


What's that Word Again?

by wowuhmidk



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang is totally trying to get them together but you didn't hear that from me, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Angry Sokka, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Firelord Iroh (Avatar), I Promise It Gets Happier, I take so many liberties with the story though, Idiots, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magic, Mermaids, Mutual Pining, Pining, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Sokka learns Love in multiple ways, They're both stupid in different ways, oof, water tribes are mermaids, waterbending is a thing but that's the only bending style, yeah - Freeform, you know that stage of crushing before you are fully aware it's a crush?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26206774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wowuhmidk/pseuds/wowuhmidk
Summary: If they’re smart, the humans will wait until light to look for the man, and by then, they will have already found him on the shore. For now, though, they still wail into the night, mournful cries for their friend.Sokka nearly drops the human when something swims up beside him, but regains his composure when he recognizes his sister’s hissing. “What are you doing with that man?”Sokka keeps his eyes away from Katara and adjusts his hold on the human more properly, gripping him around the middle and making sure his head stays above water. “He’ll die,” he tells her.
Relationships: Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 306





	1. I Consider Myself a Reasonable Merman

**Author's Note:**

> Very slight TW for a bit of light body gore. It's not described in detail, but it's there.

There have been reports of a seaperson off the coast of a nearby country attacking animals, other seapeople, and humans. She is rumored to use magic, an ancient art that once belonged to the humans, and so Sokka’s tribe has been asked to hunt her down because of Katara.

Katara has a rare gift among their people that allows her to control the water around her. She’s incredibly powerful, Sokka has seen her reverse currents and conjure storms comparable to hurricanes. Being the most important person on this mission, however, is making her giddy. She swims circles around Sokka while they travel.

“Why do you think the seawitch defected from her tribe?” Katara asks, fiddling with a shell bead in her hair distractedly. “Why would someone leave their family?”

“Why would someone attack their own kind?” Sokka fires back, knotting a length of sinew thread around his own hair. It’s growing too long, he’ll have to get it cut after they return home. Katara had the foresight to have her own hair trimmed by their grandmother before they left, so it floats around her head in a halo. The longest parts of it only just touch her shoulders now.

His people make an oath when they come of age to protect each other and their home. Humans have been destroying the ocean for decades, and they vow to defend it with their lives if necessary. It doesn’t make sense to Sokka to deliberately practice a malicious art created by humans (and then destroyed by humans) and use it against those you promised to protect.

“Maybe the magic made her crazy.” Katara shoos a small fish away from her tail, the white scales of her underbelly glittering in the light when she twirls. The sun is about to set, and the increasing density of fish means that they should be upon the coast soon.

“I want to know how she managed to learn magic to begin with,” Hakoda mutters, swimming just behind them. Magic hasn’t been among the humans for over a century. Although a seaperson can live longer than that, it’s unheard of for one to learn human magic. Their bodies aren’t made for it. “It shouldn’t be possible.”

“If it is,” Sokka says, turning to look at his dad, “she’s dying.”

“Maybe that’s why she’s attacking everything,” Katara whispers, going somber. “She’s falling apart. Physically and mentally.”

“Chief, there’s a ship!”

The three turn their attention west, where a ship has just left harbor. It floats over an underwater cliffside that descends into the darkness below. They’re in the witch’s territory now.

“We’ll begin searching for her. You two scout the ship and join us once you get the chance,” Hakoda tells the siblings. He leads the rest of the team downward to start searching the rocky cliffside for caves or other hidden spots seapeople use for shelter.

Katara bends the water to move them more quickly towards the ship.

Once they’ve gotten close, it’s clear that it’s not a military ship, which would be problematic if the humans spot them. The hull of the boat is wooden, but it’s much too big to be a typical fishing boat. “Probably a travel ship,” Sokka declares as they come around to the front of it.

When their heads break the surface, the first thing Sokka notices is the dragon figurehead, intricately carved and painted. The carving of the ship is decorative, definitely not meant to weather long journeys across the ocean.

“Leisure vessel,” Katara guesses. Sokka agrees with a silent nod and hooks his arm with hers while she lifts them to the ship’s edge with water. He’s learned the hard way that if he doesn’t hang on to her while she’s doing this particular trick, he’ll end up gracefully flopping back to the sea when he can’t hold his balance, which has alerted a ship or two to their presence in the past. Katara makes sure to cover them up to their heads with water, keeping the gills on the sides of their necks submerged to breathe.

Peeking through a hole near the top deck floor, it’s immediately apparent that they’re crashing a party. There’s a pleasant noise in the air which is only ever present at human parties, and some of the humans are singing.

There aren’t as many humans on the ship as Sokka has usually seen at their parties. Maybe a dozen total. They’re eating and dancing, and one bald man is standing off to the side and playing with a furry land animal that Sokka has never seen before. Standing next to them is another man with a large scar covering one of his eyes. Other members of the party frequently approach him, laughing and hugging him and saying “Zuko,” over and over. Sokka guesses that it’s the man’s name and that this party is for him, though Zuko seems content to stay at the edge of the group with the smaller man and his animal companion.

“Not a threat,” he tells Katara. She seems reluctant to believe it, but she lowers them back into the ocean anyways.

Katara has been overly cautious with humans since they were young—since their mother had been taken from them—but it was important to leave humans be if they were doing no harm. They couldn’t risk being attacked by them.

They’d already lost too much to humans, and Sokka won’t let Katara endanger herself because she was suspicious of partying humans. So, as soon as they are solidly back in the water, he grabs her arm and pulls her forward in the rocks’ direction.

It does make him nervous having the ship so close to them, though. If it’s a leisure boat, it probably won’t go far from shore or stay away for as long as they need in order to do what they need to do and get out of the area.

The light won’t last long, so Sokka and Katara begin in the darkest crevices near the surface and work their way over to where the rest of their tribe is doing the same.

Sokka stays on edge for the entirety of the time that he and Katara are separated from the others, constantly looking over to make sure he can still see his father.

They have almost bridged the gap between themselves and the group, have almost checked every place she could be, when Sokka hears his dad call out to the right of him. A figure moves out into the open, coming from where Hakoda is still floating. A dark substance fogs the water around the witch as she progresses, looking almost like ink as she swims away, back towards the boat. With a tightened gut, Sokka realizes that the witch’s flesh is rotting off of her.

Katara wastes no time in giving chase, and Sokka follows right behind her.

The witch herself is not hard to make out as she swims, a thin train of black fog following behind her. She’s old, possibly as old as their grandmother, and has long wispy hair that seems almost transparent in the dying light. She swims like a missile towards the ship. Just as the siblings close in on her and Katara reaches out to grab her with her bending, the witch stretches out a bony hand, and the ship explodes.

The force is enough to ram Sokka right into Katara’s side, making her lose her focus. A slab of wood cuts into the side of Sokka’s stomach, taking a fair amount of scales with it but mostly just leaving a surface wound. The witch continues forward among the debris. Sokka hears Hakoda calling for them, but they can’t let her get away from them this easily. He and Katara advance in the direction the witch had gone, weaving delicately around giant splinters of wood. 

“I’ll look from above,” Sokka yells out to his sister, “if you’ll search from below the debris. Try to look for the rot in the water before the sun goes down.”

Katara doesn’t answer; she just dives down without question to do as he’d asked. Sokka heads for the surface.

Above water, the wreck is even worse. Floating lumber obscures most of his vision, while the screaming humans take up most of his hearing. They’re saying that word again, screaming that name over and over, “Zuko! Zuko!”

He navigates past the items in the water without too much trouble but must have gotten distracted. He had not realized how close to the humans he’s gotten. A small boat full of those humans is right in front of him, and the furry animal is being lifted onto it by Zuko from the water, though he does not seem to be doing very well. The animal is nearly as tall as the human, after all. 

Sokka keeps himself hidden behind a piece of wood to watch, hoping that they can get the poor distressed creature onto the boat. The animal does not make it very easy for them as it panics, but they still try very hard, lifting it on board after a minute of struggling.

Zuko does not get so lucky, however, and the animal kicks one foot back into his neck as it’s helped aboard. The humans devolve back into their frantic screaming of his name as he sinks.

Sokka dips his head back underwater to watch the human sink, a small hope in his chest that he’ll recover and ascend, but it does not appear likely. Below the shipwreck, his tribe is still scattered, still searching. They still haven’t spotted her, and Sokka should be with them to help hunt her down, but…

But the human, Zuko, as far as Sokka knew, had never intended harm to anyone, and the witch had attacked them in order to provide cover for an escape. He’d used the last of his strength to ensure his companions’ safety, and he doesn’t deserve to die for that.

The light is long gone, but it is no problem for Sokka’s eyes to see the human figure slowly sinking, and his strong tail allows him to reach Zuko in a second.

Sokka takes him straight up to the surface first, knowing that humans can’t go as long without air as other mammals that Sokka has encountered can, and once he’s confirmed that Zuko’s chest is moving with his breaths, he slowly makes his way to the shore, careful around the floating wreck.

If they’re smart, the humans will wait until light to look for the man, and by then, they will have already found him on the shore. For now, though, they still wail into the night, mournful cries for their friend.

Sokka nearly drops the human when something swims up beside him, but regains his composure when he recognizes his sister’s hissing. “What are you doing with that man?”

Sokka keeps his eyes away from Katara and adjusts his hold on the human more properly, gripping him around the middle and making sure his head stays above water. “He’ll die,” he tells her.

“So?” She answers, grazing her fingers over the cut on his side. It barely hurts, but she’s trying to prove a point.

“This isn’t his fault,” Sokka says. “He is her victim too.”

No matter how tough she likes to appear or how contrary she thinks she is, Katara trusts her older brother’s judgment. And because she trusts Sokka, she helps propel them towards the shore faster, depositing them far enough up onto the beach for the water not to cover the human's head when it approaches. She even extracts the small amount of water from within his lungs before giving Sokka a long look and leaving.

The man coughs once the water has left his system and continues to cough as he wakes, raising a hand to cover his throat. The movement draws Sokka’s eyes, and he finds it so strange to look at a neck so similar to his own and not see gills.

The beach is too well-lit, and Sokka should have left the moment Katara did, but he finds himself touching the scar on the side of the human’s face, wondering how it happened. He’d seen humans with scars before, but never one like this.

The eye beneath the scar opens suddenly and Sokka reacts too slowly, not noticing at first because  _ why is this human’s hair so soft,  _ (Sokka's hair has always been coarse and brine-soaked which is  _ so not fair but whatever _ ) but once he does notice he’s jumping back as far as he can.

The human yells something at Sokka in his stilted language but doesn’t do more than sit up in the sand. Sokka rushes back to the water, dragging himself by his arms until he is in water deep enough to swim away to a safe distance, where he then watches to be sure that the man doesn’t die right there on the beach. That would be a disappointing waste of effort.

Zuko watches the seaperson leave, confused. He’d never seen a seaperson before but had always been warned by his crew to watch out for them, as they’re dangerous to ships and people. Seafolk have been known to attack and have been said never to show mercy, so why did this one pull him to shore?


	2. You Poor Unfortunate Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look writing this broke my heart so I'm apologizing in advance.
> 
> TW for various depictions of physical pain, although it's not very detailed.

Katara, luckily, did not tell their father about the human they’d saved. Or at least if she had, Hakoda isn’t bringing the subject up now as he and Sokka swim back towards the witch’s cave. Sokka's just gotten his side stitched up and is ready to rejoin the search effort.

They’re all exhausted. Everyone has been working constantly overnight to find the witch, but they’ve been unlucky so far. With the sun rising soon, it should help them search deeper waters, but Sokka can tell Hakoda is about to call it quits for the day so everyone can rest.

“Did someone look through her belongings yet? She wouldn’t go far if something important to her got left behind,” Sokka suggests, watching a small group of their people gather near the opening of the cave.

“I’ll have someone else go through it. I want you to take a team to check the reef down by the beach.” Hakoda explains that someone found an injured shortfin not too long ago, and they think that the witch could be near the reef if she’s attacking fish.

“Did you see her skin?” Sokka asks. “That has to be what’s attracting the predators to her and why she’s attacking animals.”

“That still doesn’t explain why she’s attacking us,” Katara interjects, swimming up and tugging on Sokka’s arm. “Come on. We’re ready for you.”

The reef isn’t too far from the underwater cliff-face that the witch calls her home, but it’s much closer to the beach, and it’s going to be more dangerous if they’re spotted by either the witch or the humans.

“No one goes alone,” Sokka tells his team as they approach the reef’s edge. “Two teams of three, one to check the reef’s outer ring and one to check the center. We meet back here once everything’s been searched.”

Half of their group heads deeper into the reef led by Bato, and Sokka's team begins checking the perimeter.

Sokka is reasonably sure that the witch wouldn’t choose to stay near the reef if it’s full of predators catching her scent — and he wants to know what they find in her cave — so he resolves to make this a quick mission and get back to the others.

Sokka really should have seen it coming. He knows better than to tempt fate.

Katara must not have seen her, must not have looked in this particular spot, but Sokka is right behind Katara, and so he sees the witch lunge for his sister before she notices him there.

He’s able to grab the witch by the wrists just before she collides with Katara, and they lock eyes as he bares his teeth and backs her into the crevice of coral she’d jumped out from. The water’s natural flow has changed on his skin and scales, a familiar tingling that always radiates off of his sister as she bends.

“Call for Bato,” Sokka orders the other seaperson with them, and she swims off.

Katara moves to float right next to Sokka so he can remove the rope from across his chest. The seawitch doesn’t struggle, just allows Sokka to begin binding her wrists in front of her.

“Where’s your tribe?” Katara growls out, and Sokka shoots her a look.

“Wait for-”

“Why are you attacking us? Why are you attacking your own kind?”

“Katara.”

In answer, the witch lets out a screech and places both bound hands against Sokka’s chest. Katara pushes her back against the coral in under a second, but the damage is done.

A searing pain begins in Sokka’s chest, first an intense burning, then a strange filling sensation. It feels like after he’s had a large meal, but it keeps expanding.

He must blackout for a second because suddenly the water is much darker and the witch is no longer in front of him. Maybe a boat drifted overhead and is blocking the sun. Katara is frantically saying his name and screaming for help. His head feels heavy, and his neck feels sore. It’s as if he pulled a muscle, but that muscle is everything above his shoulders. His chest feels tense.

And then he can’t breathe.

That wakes him up the rest of the way, and his hands fly up to his gills, thinking at first that something is holding them shut, but the skin of his neck is smooth. Katara is looking at him with a horrified expression.

Sokka tries to say something—maybe  _ help _ , maybe  _ what just happened _ , maybe  _ am I dying? _ —but all that comes out is a small air bubble.

Air.

There shouldn’t be air in Sokka’s body. It shouldn’t be coming out of his mouth like that. Sokka’s only ever seen that happen with humans.

Humans.

Sokka looks down and is initially relieved to see his tail still. How ridiculous a notion that anyone, no matter how powerful, could change one species into another. But then he notices that it’s much, much shorter than it should be and that his white and blue scales are rapidly falling off. He cries out, and an even bigger pocket of air escapes him, leaving his chest burning. His hands come up to his mouth, and the webbing in between his fingers is gone.

Katara acts quickly, coming to grips with the situation long before Sokka does. She propels them towards the surface, knowing that her brother needs to breathe.

Her brother needs to breathe air because he’s human.

Once Sokka is at the surface, he can think much more clearly, which might have a bit to do with the air. He can feel his chest expand with every breath, and it’s never done that before, so he fixates on it a bit too hard for a bit too long. When he tries to shift focus to his sister, he finds it hard to think about anything other than breathing without accidentally stopping breathing. Katara seems to be in a bit of shock herself, so she doesn’t say anything as he tries to keep breathing while not thinking about breathing.  _ Do humans always have to think about breathing? _ Do all mammals? Is it just a skill you develop? What if Sokka can’t learn how to breathe correctly and dies before they can even fix this?

A bit of water gets into his mouth and he chokes on it for a second, which hurts because his jaws are  _ sore _ .

“Breathe through your nose, Sokka!” Her voice is higher-pitched above the water, but the chiding tone is familiar enough to help ground Sokka.

Honestly, Sokka had forgotten humans could breathe that way for a second.

His nose burned, but it worked just fine for breathing. 

“Are you okay?”

Sokka tries to answer her, but all that comes out is a croak. Humans’ vocal cords aren’t made for the nuanced sounds and low pitches of their language. Sokka had heard them attempt to mimic his voice before, mocking him, but to hear the sound from his own mouth sends a shock through him.

“Oh, Sokka.”

And that’s when he begins crying.

Katara holds Sokka afloat with her water bending, but as his cries die out, she slowly releases her hold on the ocean. The water returns to a calm swaying, and they learn of a new problem.

Sokka cannot swim with his new legs.

In fact, he can barely bring himself to move them at all. They’re sore and tingly, similar to when he got his hand caught under a rock and was stuck like that for minutes until Katara could gather enough people to help move the boulder. He couldn’t feel his fingers for an hour, and pinpricks danced over his skin every time he flexed them.

Katara can’t bend anymore—she had been holding him at the surface for long enough for Sokka to learn to breathe, so he guesses he can’t entirely blame her for being tired. Instead, she grabs onto him and carries him towards the beach, where he will be able to breathe  _ and _ not drown.

He thinks of the human from last night, whom he’d held similar to this to take him to the same beach, just a hundred yards farther east.

There’s a boat in the harbor and people on the beach, but Katara doesn’t seem to care as she sets Sokka down against a rock in the sand, which provides them a bit of cover. He’s barely able to sit up, let alone keep himself supported as the waves roll in and out, but his sister leans against him while keeping a wary eye on the humans who have yet to take notice of them.

Sokka wants to tell his sister to go for help, wants to ask her to get their father, but doesn’t want to be left alone on the beach so helpless. And even if his father could get to them, what would they do? They’d have to find the witch to fix this. There’s nothing Sokka can do and nothing that they can do for him until then.

“This is my fault,” Katara says, slumping against the rock and leaning more of her weight into her brother. “I should have kept my mouth shut. I’m sorry, Sokka.”

Maybe if the situation were different, if he wasn’t still feeling pain in his gut or if he could talk, he would joke to her about listening more, and  _ yeah you should be sorry I mean look at me this is unacceptable _ . But she looks just as lost as he feels, and anyway, he can’t say anything at all, so he just grabs her hand and shakes his head, hoping she’ll understand that he doesn’t blame her.

“I’ll fix it, I promise.” He gives her a look that she should interpret as  _ yeah you better _ or maybe an  _ oh will you?  _ with a placating smile, and she shoves him a bit. “I will!”

Someone on the beach behind them shouts over Katara’s voice, and it has them both tensing up. Sokka turns to look out from their rocky hiding spot and sees a man running and pointing at the rock they’re hiding behind, something in his hands. Others are turning their attention to them.

Katara already has the waves at her command by the time the man makes it to their side of the rocks. The water sweeps him up before he can even lift the weapon in his hands. More people are gathering, running and shouting and pointing.

Katara has a fierce look in her eyes as she raises her arms and the ocean swells up behind her. Sokka can see how much it drains her though, he knows how strained she still is from helping him earlier, and he knows that if she chooses to fight, she won’t last long.

The humans don’t see Sokka as a threat—in fact, they might see Katara as a threat to Sokka—and Katara won’t be able to support him in the water for long, so she’ll have to go, and Sokka will have to stay.

He tries to tell her as much, but his voice catches on the word he tries to say, and it throws him into a coughing fit. Katara reaches out to him, and the humans’ screaming gets louder. The small group of eight or nine identically dressed people is charging for them now, and even though they have nothing in their hands like the first man did, Sokka is afraid of them harming Katara.

Some of his people have taken up the skill of learning to mimic human speech. Mimicry, being able to understand another creature’s sounds and copy them, is common among seapeople. It’s used in Sokka’s tribe primarily for hunting, though none of his own tribe have ever attempted with human speech. He has friends from one of the northern tribes who have had a lot of success using it and regularly communicate with humans for various reasons. It had interested Sokka, but he ultimately never spent enough time with their sister tribe to have it taught to him. Now, he wishes he had. He wishes he knew even just a few words, or just the one word that would get them to  _ stop _ .

He spreads his arms in a defensive manner and manages to balance on his knees against the rock, covering as much of his little sister’s body as possible. He tries to say in body language what he can’t with words:  _ please don’t hurt her _ .

Katara may have come to the same conclusion as he did, that if she leaves, there’s a chance Sokka will just be left alone by the humans. Or maybe she’s as scared of him being hurt on her behalf as he is of her being hurt on his. Whatever her motivation is, she summons one last wave to carry her back into the sea and disappears without a word.

Sokka is alone with the people now, slumped against the short rock that currently holds most of his weight upright. With Katara gone, they approach him slowly and with kindness dripping off of their foreign words.

Sokka does not want kindness. He does not want the pity of these humans who have no idea who he really is.

He lashes out, hoping they’ll leave him alone. He drags himself along the beach while swinging his hands at anyone who comes too close to him. The water knocks him over occasionally as the small waves move up the sand, and the people try the most then to come to him, to help him out of the water’s way, but that is when Sokka screams his guttural noises at them while choking on salt and sand.

He thinks he might be crying, but he isn’t sure.

He’s terrified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise it'll be happier in the next one.


	3. There’s Something Different. Don’t Tell Me — I Got It. It’s Your Hairdo, Right?

“I just don’t see why the prince and his personal guard should attend to this. It’s unseemly.”

Early this morning, a report came in that a nude man was found on the beach within the palace grounds and is attacking anyone who tries to come close to him. By sheer luck, Zuko overheard a member of the palace police force mention it, and he immediately called for his guard, which alerted his advisor, who Zuko has been trying to outpace since they walked out of the palace doors.

“They said a seaperson attacked him, and I want to speak to him about it.”

“With all due respect, your highness, they also said he was drunk. It’s best to let the police handle it.”

Zuko shakes his head, having made up his mind. A seaperson saved his life last night, and then this morning another attacks a different man? Zuko needs to know more.

A group of police at the edge of the private beach comes into view as they continue, along with a lone figure in the sand.

Zuko can tell instantly from the darker complexion of the man's back that he is not a native of their nation. His hair is also pulled back in a style that is not typical of his people, who all sport their traditional topknots with pride. This man wears a short tail interwoven with white beads at the back of his head that sags with the weight of his damp hair, which Zuko can only just barely see because his head is hanging so low. It’s the posture of a defeated man.

“Prince Zuko,” the captain greets, “it is surprising to see you. Rest assured, we have this situation handled and will have him off royal property in no time.”

“I want to speak with him first,” Zuko says, wearily eyeing the way the police crowd in a tight circle around the man. “Tell your officers to stand down. He’s threatened.”

“Your highness, this individual is dangerous. He’s been violent with us for an hour. This is the best way to make a safe arrest.”

Zuko turns his head to look at the captain incredulously, noticing for the first time that he’s completely soaked. “This individual has been attacked and is now feeling threatened by your officers. You will not be arresting him.” Not wanting to argue further, Zuko takes a shock blanket from one of his guards and makes his way towards the crowd. “Officers, you are all dismissed. My guard and I will take over the matter from here.”

Zuko knows better than to approach someone volatile from behind, so he makes his way slowly around the group of dispersing police to face the man.

Now that he’s closer, Zuko can tell that the man is bleeding from his side and shaking violently. He’s careful to kneel in front of the man slowly and a few feet away, so he isn’t too confrontational.

The man still has his face down and shoulders hunched up to his cheeks, so Zuko speaks as softly as possible. “Hello, I’d like to speak to you about what happened to you this morning, if that’s alright.”

At first, the man doesn’t react more than a slight stirring, and Zuko pretends not to notice his advisor fidget from behind the safety of the royal guard. Then, slowly and groggily, the man lifts his head, and Zuko has to keep himself from startling physically. Three locks of hair beaded with shells fall to frame his face, and the man’s eyes widen in what Zuko takes as recognition.

“I know you,” Zuko says, struggling to keep his voice low. “You helped me last night, but you’re—” He’s human. Zuko  _ knows _ that he wasn’t human last night.

“Zuko,” the man croaks out. It doesn’t sound entirely right, but it’s unmistakably his name, and Zuko feels like he’s losing his mind.

“How do you know my name?”

“Zuko,” the man repeats, more steadily this time, and reaches his hand out towards Zuko’s face.

Zuko sees his guards tense in his periphery, and a couple of them step forward, but Zuko raises a hand to stop them. The action stalls the man. He freezes with his hand in midair between them.

Zuko tries again. “Do you remember me from last night?”

The man—the seaperson-turned-man—slowly lowers his hand. He’s scared. Something’s happened to him. Maybe the seaperson who attacked him did this? Do seafolk even have the capability to do something like this?

The most magic Zuko has ever seen a seaperson do is control the water in the ocean, but he is vastly out of his element here. He’s been on a dozen sea trips in his life at most and was never really interested in learning about creatures that bore no real importance in his day-to-day life. Maybe his uncle would know more. He commanded a ship for decades before he assumed the throne.

The man still doesn’t answer Zuko. He probably can’t even understand what Zuko’s saying. But then how does he know Zuko’s name?

“Can I have someone come to look over his injuries?” Two of his guards run off up the beach to find someone to help. 

Zuko hands the thin blanket to the man, and he takes it hesitantly. He doesn’t seem to know what to do with it, though. He just holds it in the air between them, so Zuko holds out his hands for the blanket again and slowly moves closer.

“Here,” Zuko says, taking the blanket and wrapping it around the man’s shoulders. The man tenses up as Zuko fixes the blanket but relaxes once it’s settled around his shoulders. Zuko hands over the corners of it for him to hold, and he takes them into one fist and holds it against his chest.

The guards are approaching with a woman carrying a medical case in tow. Not the court physician, but another doctor that Zuko assumes the police had called for. Zuko has the doctor come to them, but motions for the guards to stay put with the others. He doesn’t want to add any more stress to this situation.

The man is visibly uncomfortable when the doctor slowly kneels next to Zuko.

“I don’t think he can understand us,” Zuko tells her, and she nods as if expecting as much. Anyone can tell that the man is foreign to their nation.

When she reaches for the man, he flinches back and bares his teeth at her. Zuko’s surprised for a moment at seeing a set of human teeth in his mouth, having somehow expected to see the sharp fangs he had opened his eyes to last night.

“It’s okay,” Zuko tells him, holding out his hand. “She’s going to help.”

Zuko knows that he doesn’t understand a word that he just heard, but thinks that maybe the meaning got across anyways because he lowers his guard, shoulders dropping again.

“Why don’t we just try some water first?” The doctor brings a water bottle out of her case and tries to hand it to the man, but he leans back from it.

Zuko doesn’t know how to explain this. How does he tell her that actually this stranger doesn’t understand  _ any _ of the things that they would? He’s not just a foreigner from another country; it’s almost as if he’s from another world entirely.

Zuko takes the bottle of water and opens it, pouring a bit into his hand. “Water,” he says, then takes a small drink to demonstrate before passing it to the man.

He watches Zuko wearily when he takes the bottle into his own hands but does as he was shown and raises it to his lips to drink, which is when he promptly starts sputtering and choking on it. Both the doctor and Zuko quickly lean in to help, and this time the man doesn’t protest, letting Zuko pat him on the back and letting the doctor take the bottle from his hands.

She looks completely bewildered, like she wasn’t expecting to come in on call for a violent drunk man and end up having to teach him how to drink water from a bottle.

“I saw this man last night. He saved my life,” Zuko explains to her softly, “and he was a seaperson. I don’t know what happened to him, but I know that it’s the same person. I’m completely certain.”

The doctor doesn’t look Zuko in the eyes, so he doesn’t know if she believes him, but she doesn’t get up to leave, so that must be a good sign. She explains that the man is dehydrated and needs to drink water properly, and Zuko manages to get him to take a few sips of water successfully.

He is apparently very dehydrated because as soon as Zuko smiles and nods at him for being able to drink a bit of the water, he’s tilting the bottle back, and the doctor panics. “Not too fast!”

Zuko has to grab the end of the bottle to coax him into drinking just a bit at a time, but soon enough, the bottle is empty, and he’s asking for more.

“Water?” Like the first time he’d said Zuko’s name, it doesn’t sound quite right, but Zuko repeats it to him correctly and they volley the word between themselves a couple of times until he gets it right. Zuko hands him another bottle and the doctor begins to check him for injuries.

The cut on his side is the most pressing issue, but the doctor points out the stitching. She says that he might have pulled some of them out when he struggled on the beach, but they are expertly done otherwise.

The words are tinged with doubt, and Zuko knows that she doesn’t believe him about who the man is. Zuko is sure of it, though. He even recognized Zuko.

They manage to stop the bleeding, and the doctor offers to take the man to a hospital to get his stitching redone where it’s come loose, but Zuko insists on doing it on the beach. Taking him into the city and surrounding him with strangers would be the worst idea at this point.

The stranger doesn’t flinch when the doctor moves towards his side with a needle and thread, just lays out obediently so that his side is appropriately exposed. When the doctor finishes, she declares that there is nothing else she can do for him on the beach, tells Zuko to make sure the man eats, hands over one last bottle of water, and leaves.

Zuko sends half of his guards away with his advisor and sends two more to get food. It leaves just one person on the beach with Zuko and the man.

“Water,” he says, reaching for the last bottle in Zuko’s hands. His voice has gotten much smoother with practice, a sharp difference from the scratching sounds that were in his words before.

Zuko hands over the bottle and the man drinks slowly like he was shown, only a couple of sips at a time. In between drinks, blue eyes stare point-blank into Zuko’s face.

“Zuko,” he says, then takes a sip.

“How do you know my name?” Zuko asks, despite his better judgment. The man just continues to stare.

Zuko tries something different.

He holds his hands to his chest and says, “I am Zuko.” He points to the water bottle in the man’s hands. “That’s water.”

“Zuko,” he repeats, pointing at Zuko, then at the bottle. “Water.”

Zuko then points to the man himself, hoping that he’ll understand what he means. The man places a hand against his own chest and his expression brightens a bit, but when he attempts to say his name, he cuts out at the beginning of the first hiss-like syllable. His face drops and his eyes water.

“You can’t say it,” Zuko guesses. If the man can’t even say his own name in his own language, he must not be able to speak it properly at all. 

Zuko can’t imagine how isolating that must feel.

Zuko points to himself again. “Zuko.” He stands up, trying to hold himself as tall as possible, trying to convey the meaning of the name his mother gave him. He ends up holding his hands above his head for emphasis. “Zuko,” he repeats, then points to himself one more time.

After a moment, he seems to understand and, strangely, buries the now empty bottle in the sand. He lets the blanket fall to his lap and mimes digging in various spots for the plastic water bottle, before finally bringing it back up.

“You’re… looking for something?” Zuko guesses, but there’s no way to confirm or deny. He gives Zuko a look that can only mean,  _ wait _ , so Zuko sits back down.

The man then holds the bottle in one hand above his head and drops it into the hand resting near the ground. He taps the bottle to his hand to mime catching it again, but from the look on his face, it seems he can tell he’s confusing Zuko.

Trying again, the man buries the bottle. He pretends to look for it, then pulls it up. He buries it again, and this time only searches for a second before pretending to give up. He waves his arms in a crossing motion over where the bottle is, then returns his hands to his sides, showing that he won’t look for it anymore.

“You stopped searching?” That’s not right, though. The man had emphasized the order of the actions. “You were searching, then you stopped…” The name comes to his mind instantly, the closest thing he thinks he will get to the meaning. “Sokka.”

The man,  _ Sokka, _ points to himself, and Zuko nods his head, also pointing at him.

“Sokka,” Zuko says, encouraging him to copy the sound.

“Sokka.” It comes to him easier than any word he’s said so far, and he seems to like the way it sounds because he smiles and repeats it: “Sokka.  _ Sokka _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used various sources to figure out how exactly I wanted to portray the meanings of their names and let me tell you it was not very easy to figure out charades-friendly interpretations of them
> 
> Also is it telling that I went out of my way to make Sokka's last word in his native language his sister's name and his first word in this new language Zuko's??
> 
> Probably


	4. It's Not Often That We Have Such A Lovely Dinner Guest

The food still hasn’t arrived, so Zuko takes the time to try to help Sokka stand.

Their first attempt involves Zuko pulling Sokka up with him by the elbows as they try to stand together, but ends in a mouthful of sand for both of them as they lose their balance and fall sideways.

They’re both newly determined when they try the second time. Zuko stands in front of Sokka and pulls him up to his level, which isn’t as easy as he’d imagined it. Sokka’s nearly straightened out after a good minute of struggling when he falls forwards, his knees giving out under the weight. Zuko only just manages to keep his hold on Sokka’s arms to prevent him from taking a face full of sand again, but ends up tripping on the blanket, and they both end up on the ground.

The third time they try, Sokka goes down laughing when he collides with Zuko’s legs and sends Zuko to the ground with him. The laugh sounds strange, and if you didn’t know better you might say it sounds awkwardly forced, but Zuko can’t help but smile at the easy reaction.

The fourth time, Zuko tries lifting Sokka from behind, hooking his arms under Sokka’s armpits. It’s easier to stabilize him this way, with Sokka leaning back and Zuko leaning forwards, and they manage to keep Sokka on his feet this time.

Walking is a different struggle. Sokka leans heavily into Zuko while they move but gets frustrated when he has problems keeping his legs from shaking. To distract him and give him small breaks, Zuko continues to name different things and give Sokka a chance to get used to the words.

Sokka learns  _ ocean _ ,  _ sun _ , and  _ bird _ pretty quickly and starts asking about other things. Zuko teaches him  _ sand _ and  _ human _ . Sokka points to his face, and Zuko tells him  _ scar _ , then  _ eyebrow _ and  _ nose  _ and _ ears _ . Sokka tells the guard that is still with them his name, and she tells him her name is Kori. Zuko is surprised to see the amount of curiosity he has and how happily he learns.

By the time Zuko sees the guards approaching with the food (and what appears to be one of the generic white guest robes, thankfully), Sokka is in good spirits, although he still can’t walk without relying mostly on Zuko. However, before the food can get to them, the unmistakable voice of a seaperson in the water behind them has Sokka twisting around in Zuko’s arms. Zuko throws up a hand to his guards and yells at them to stay away.

Two seapeople float in the shallows of the water with panicked expressions. Sokka is so excited to see them he nearly falls to the sand when he tries to take a hurried unaided step. Zuko has to guide him closer to the water, which doesn’t help the weariness of the seapeople, but they don’t appear hostile. Zuko is thankful that his guards seem to be listening to him.

One of the two must have the ability to control the ocean because they come to meet Sokka in a swell of water that holds its form just a foot away from them, allowing them to come face-to-face with Sokka without him having to walk more than shin-deep into the water.

Zuko feels like an intruder as they speak but knows that Sokka won’t be able to stand on his own.

The older man bears some resemblance to both Sokka and the younger woman, so Zuko assumes the three are family. They don’t speak for long, but Zuko can tell they’re as anxious about leaving Sokka alone as he is about seeing them go.

Zuko and Sokka are both soaked up to the waist once they’re gone, and the blanket is completely ruined.

One of the guards approaches with the robe, and Zuko is able to steer Sokka out of the water to put it on. He’s much more somber than he was a second ago, but still a bit cheerful, and tries to ask the new guard his name.

The guard is confused at first since Sokka’s method for asking the names of things is currently announcing his own name and then pointing to the thing he wants to learn the name of, but Zuko asks, “What’s your name?” and the guard gives it easily enough.

Sokka tries to repeat what Zuko had said to the guard, but struggles on saying “what” properly.

“My name is Zuko,” Zuko says slowly, and Sokka repeats it with his own name. They repeat that for a second back and forth, while Zuko tries to pretend not to notice the guard slowly moving away from them with a strange expression. Sokka has been picking up the words much easier; it’s as if he’s echoing them right back at Zuko.

“My name is Sokka.”

Zuko nods once the words sound right. “What’s your name?”

Sokka is delighted when he gets it right. Zuko uses Kori, who still stands not too far away, to demonstrate.

“My name is Zuko. What’s your name?”

When she answers him, Sokka’s face lights up in understanding, and Zuko smiles.

“Sir,” Kori adds, “would you like your food now?”

Zuko had initially planned to have Sokka eat outside on the sand to make sure he stays comfortable but knows that he won’t get anywhere with figuring out how to help him without speaking to his uncle.

Zuko points to the ocean, then says softly, “Sokka’s home.” Sokka doesn’t seem to understand very well, but Zuko points to a small path at the beach’s edge that winds around the curve of a hill, leading back to the palace. “Zuko’s home.”

Sokka looks between the path and the ocean, and maybe he gets it after a second, because he repeats, “Zuko’s home.”

“Go ahead of us and tell my uncle to expect us for lunch,” Zuko tells one of the guards, who nods to him and leaves to do just that. He tells the other two to walk in front of them to the palace because he doesn’t want Sokka to feel as if he’s being corralled. Then he slowly starts to guide Sokka up the beach and towards the path.

He still can’t walk well, and they almost fall a couple of times until they get onto more solid ground, but Sokka continues forward, only glancing back at the water a few times and smiling at Zuko with more trust than he has any reason to give.

When they arrive at the palace through the back courtyard gate, the third guard that Zuko had sent ahead of them is waiting with an ornate wooden walker. Zuko recognizes it as the one his uncle had been ordered by the court physician to use for a week when he’d injured his knee. Someone must have told him about the time delay due to Sokka’s inability to walk.

Sokka only takes it when Zuko shows him how to use it, and then Sokka is excited to be able to walk on his own the rest of the way. As they move, he points to a tree and the pond and a bush and says, “My name is Sokka. What’s your name?”

Zuko is grinning as he names everything that Sokka asks about, letting him pause as he tries to get the sounds right before continuing their walk through the palace to the dining room. It takes their small group almost five times longer than the walk reasonably should have, but no one complains or rushes Sokka.

Zuko’s uncle stands to greet them when they enter, and Sokka calls out to him from across the room as Zuko’s guards are dismissed by the palace guards. “My name is Sokka. What’s your name?”

Iroh is entirely delighted, even as one of the servants balk behind him at the informal greeting. “Hello, Sokka. My name is Iroh.”

“Helloooo…” Sokka echos quietly as Zuko guides him to a chair.

“So Zuko, to what do we owe the pleasure of our company this afternoon?”

“That’s what I wanted to speak with you about,” Zuko tells his uncle. Iroh doesn’t sit back down until Sokka does, at which point servants begin bringing in plates of food. Zuko takes his own seat next to Sokka. “I believe that this is the man that saved me from drowning last night.”

“Is that so?” Iroh raises a brow and turns his attention to Sokka. “In that case, I would like to express my gratitude to you for what you have done for my nephew. May I ask how it is that you sustained the injury to your legs? I hope it did not happen last night in the water.”

“Well, uncle, actually—”

Sokka turns to the prince and gestures to the plate of food being set in front of him. “My name is Sokka. What’s your name?”

Iroh’s openly kind and grateful expression morphs into one of confusion.

“Food,” Zuko says, choosing for the sake of simplicity to avoid starting to teach Sokka specifics for now. He shows Sokka how to cut his fish and use the fork as he explains to his uncle in quick and hushed sentences. “I didn’t have the chance to speak with you about it last night, but a seaperson saved me. And I think that this man — Sokka —  _ is _ that seaperson.” Zuko doesn’t look at his uncle as he continues, just watches as Sokka happily cuts his fish into small pieces and starts popping them into his mouth with his fork. “And I know that I sound crazy, I  _ know _ I do, but I know that this is him. I don’t know what happened to him, and he can’t understand anything that we say, so I can’t just ask. But I want to help him.”

Zuko does look at Iroh then, once he’s finished saying his piece, which is around the time that Sokka finishes his fish and has another one set in front of him by the servers. He happily starts his cutting again.

Iroh does not look at Zuko like he’s lost his mind, thankfully. Instead, he stares curiously at Sokka. “How terrified he must have been to be cut off from his own world. Humans would be incapable of speaking the language of the seapeople, so he must not have even been able to communicate with his people. How did you come to learn his name?”

Zuko feels his face heat up a bit, but the embarrassment at explaining he played charades pales in comparison to the relief that Iroh believes him without question. “We kind of mimed out our names to each other, and I figured out what his name would be that way. I’ve been trying to show him other words, but I don’t think I’m the best teacher.”

“My name is Sokka. What’s your name?” Sokka is referring to the serving girl who sets a small cake in front of him for dessert. She flushes and tells him her name quietly before retreating to the back of the room. Zuko makes a mental note to apologize to their staff later in the day.

“In all my years working alongside them, never have I encountered something like this. It must have taken extraordinary magic to do this to him.”

“Magic hasn’t been practiced in over a hundred years, though. A human couldn’t have done this to him,” Zuko protests quietly.

Iroh nods. “It is believed so, yes. But the last known practitioners of magic lived in this area. It is not a possibility we can overlook so easily.” Iroh sends a sad look at Sokka. “And I fear that unless we find out exactly what happened to him, there will be no way for us to help return him home.”

  
  
  


Zuko, his uncle, and his sister all have bedrooms on the opposite side of the palace that Sokka’s temporary room is, so Zuko decides to sleep in the bedroom down the hall from him for now. 

These rooms are saved for visiting dignitaries and ambassadors, so they’re well kept, but the head maid still pales when Zuko tells her about his plans to change rooms to be closer to his guest. He assures her that he’ll only be using it to sleep in so that he’s close by if he’s needed, and pretends not to notice when she sends twice as many maids to his new room as she sends to Sokka’s.

Sokka doesn’t understand the concept of a bed until Zuko physically climbs into his bed and pretends to sleep, and even then, not until Zuko makes fake snoring sounds. As soon as he does understand, though, he climbs into bed in his robe and promptly falls straight to sleep.

Zuko makes plans for clothes to be brought to Sokka’s room while he sleeps, sets a guard outside the door with strict instructions to send for him the moment that Sokka wakes up, and then makes his way to the library.

Zuko had sent for Aang and Suki when they’d left the dining room and had asked for them to meet him in the library. Zuko hopes that with Aang’s love of helping those in need and Suki’s one-track-mind for solving problems, they can figure something out together.

He hadn’t seen them since he was found on the beach, just after Sokka had retreated back into the ocean last night. They had to help him stand and get back to the palace, where a crowd of guards took him away to see the court physician.

While Zuko was being examined, only his uncle and Azula were allowed in to see him briefly. Then, once he was given a clean bill of health and felt more than strong enough, he’d started the walk back to his room when he’d heard the report about Sokka in passing, and after that, he hadn’t exactly had time to stop by their rooms and confirm with them that he was okay.

Which is why it is perfectly understandable when Aang rushes at him the minute he opens the door. Zuko would have expected it if he weren’t so distracted thinking about Sokka.

“Zuko! We were so worried about you! Are you okay? Did you die? Did they have to bring you back to life?”

Zuko ignores Aang’s questions.

“A note or something would have been nice. It’s almost one in the afternoon. We had to hear that you were fine from Azula, who immediately whisked my girlfriend away in the middle of the night, so I didn’t think it was that serious. But some kind of acknowledgment for the people that watched you drown would have been cool.”

Zuko winces as he extracts himself from Aang, who starts to look less relieved and more like he’s trying to imitate Suki’s hardened expression. Zuko tries not to take the bite in her words to heart, knowing that she’s just worried — and possibly annoyed that his sister took Mai and Ty Lee back out of town so soon.

“I’m sorry. Something happened. I’ll explain everything.”

And so he explains everything to them, sitting in the plush chairs that they push closer together so they can huddle over the end of the long desk. He explains everything right up to his uncle’s thoughts at lunch and Sokka’s much-needed sleep.

“And I want to help him. I want to find out what happened to him so we can help him get home.”

Aang, predictably, has tears in his eyes as he nods vigorously at Zuko’s statement, confirming his intent to help.

Suki, predictably, gets a fire in her eyes that Zuko reads as determination. “Okay, where do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this one took way longer than it should have, sorry about that. Lot of stuff on my plate right now but you deserved this so I got my shit together enough to at least give you this
> 
> If you take Sokka out of the equation Aang and Suki totally would be Zuko's best friends you can't change my mind
> 
> You won't wait as long for the next one I promise


	5. Ask 'em My Questions And Get Some Answers

Sokka, for his part, does not seem nearly as embarrassed as Zuko when they finally leave the ensuite bathroom of Sokka’s bedroom, despite Zuko having just woken him up to teach him how to use a toilet.

Sokka had slept straight through to the next morning, and Zuko was inclined to let him sleep for as long as he needed, but the head maid reported back to Zuko that multiple urine spots were in Sokka’s carpet surrounding the bed. So, despite not understanding the concept of a bathroom until twenty minutes ago, Sokka at least enjoyed the comfort of his bed enough not to want to wet it.

Zuko makes a mental note to apologize to the maids later.

Sokka doesn’t need much help dressing himself, although Zuko does have to help him balance. Afterward, Zuko asks if Sokka is hungry, a conversation that consists of them repeating the word “food” a few times back and forth, and they start heading through the halls to the dining room to give the maids some time in Sokka’s room.

Iroh is still enjoying the last of his breakfast when they arrive.

“Iroh!” Sokka exclaims cheerfully as they enter the room. The servants in the dining room flinch.

“Hello again, Sokka.” Iroh gestures to the seat next to him, and Sokka makes his way over without any uneasiness. Something warms in Zuko at seeing how easily Sokka is taking to people now. “I see that you are walking much more easily this morning.”

“Good morning, uncle.”

“Good morning, Zuko. How did your search go with your friends yesterday?”

Zuko groans, busying himself with his food. Sokka eats quickly beside him, not needing any repeated instructions on how to use the utensils.

“We haven’t found anything. We’ve looked through almost every written case we have that documents any encounter with the seapeople. Legends, police statements, sailor testimonies, and all different kinds of fairy tales, but we couldn’t find anything about how to change him back.”

Iroh nods as if he were suspecting as much. “Perhaps you are starting at the end when you should be looking for the beginning, Prince Zuko. Find out about the last known magic practitioners. They lived in our city, that I am sure of. It can be no coincidence that this has happened right on our beaches.”

Zuko takes Sokka back to the beach, and as soon as they’re within throwing distance of the water, a head pops out of the surf. Zuko keeps his distance this time; Sokka is able to maneuver himself over to the edge of the water with his walker just fine.

She doesn’t stay to talk for very long at all, but the woman does hug Sokka for at least a minute before she leaves. Sokka is crying when he turns back to face Zuko.

He points to the sun, trying to tell Zuko something.

“Sun,” Zuko reminds him of the word.

“Sun,” Sokka repeats, then points inland, at the mountains that make up the western horizon.

Zuko doesn’t take too long to put two and two together. “She’ll be back at sunset?”

Sokka doesn’t answer him, just trusts that he understands.

At first, Zuko was still debating whether he wanted to bring Sokka along to the library with him, not knowing how he’d react to his friends. But now, seeing Sokka’s expression — one that Zuko can only describe as loneliness — he decides to take the chance.

When they get back to the palace, instead of taking Sokka back to his room, Zuko leads him to the library where Aang and Suki are already sorting through the stacks of materials they had gone through yesterday. Appa is curled up under the table, and there’s a tray with a pot of tea set near the piles. Aang sets down his steaming cup when Zuko guides Sokka into the room.

“Is this Sokka?”

Aang bounces over too quickly for Zuko to intervene, but Sokka doesn’t appear upset by the sudden intrusion of personal space.

“My name is Sokka. What’s your name?”

Aang is almost as delighted as Zuko’s uncle was yesterday. “My name is Aang,” he says loudly, bowing his head in a respectful greeting. “It’s nice to meet you, Sokka!”

“Aang,” Sokka repeats. Aang grins.

“Did you bring him to help us look through everything?”

Sokka moves over to ask for Suki’s name while Zuko answers Aang. “I thought he could use the company. He misses his family.” Suki tries not to laugh as Sokka enthusiastically introduces himself to the piles of papers and books. “He still doesn’t really understand much about what we’re saying, so I just brought him to cheer him up.”

“We should teach him then,” Aang suggests brightly. “The best place to teach someone a new language has to be a library, right?”

“I think that would work better if we could translate the words,” Suki says. “Seapeople don’t have written language. No translations exist.”

Sokka returns to Zuko’s side, watching them speak with interest.

“I think it’s worth trying, at least,” Aang rushes away from the table, disappearing between two high shelves. “You guys gotta have kids books in here, right? Maybe they can help!”

Zuko shrugs. “He does seem eager to learn as much as he can.”

Appa, having noticed that Aang is now weaving his way through the library, slowly stretches himself out with a loud yawn and begins to follow the path Aang is taking.

Sokka is very excited at seeing the giant furry dog, pointing to the spot he disappears at even after Zuko tells Sokka his name. When Aang reemerges with Appa, he has an armful of thin books, and Sokka rushes to him as fast as he can with the walker.

Five minutes later, Zuko and Suki are researching the last recorded magic-using family, and Sokka is lying on the floor with Appa lying on his chest, repeating words back at Aang as they go through books meant to teach children to read.

Zuko wants to point out that Sokka’s never seen a goat or a lion in his life, so how could this possibly help him, but when he looks over, he sees the grin on Sokka’s face as Appa licks at his cheek, and he stays quiet.

“They were fishermen!”

“You found them?”

They had already found death records and records of arrest for both a father and son that had been from the upper town of the city a century ago. They only knew that they were arrested for misuse of magic, and they both died on the same day in prison, only a week after the arrest. Records stated that their health had deteriorated so rapidly it was as if they’d started decomposing before their hearts stopped beating. The person who wrote the report assumed that they’d used magic to end their own lives, though Zuko wondered why they would choose such a gruesome method.

Other than that, nothing about their personal lives prior to arrest, until now.

Zuko stands to hover over Suki’s shoulder, skimming over the page as she breaks it down.

“That’s how they got reported to the police. They were fishermen for the royal family, and a dock worker saw them performing magic in the water near the palace. They went crazy after their arrest and said they used their magic to save the city, but by then magic was so misused they were assumed to have been trying to poison your great grandfather.” Suki looks up at him. “They were set to be executed as traitors to the nation the day before they died.”

Zuko groans, dropping back into his chair. “How does this help us?”

Suki turns the paper, more optimistic than Zuko that they’ll figure it out. 

They’re in over their heads here. Sokka is stuck as an entirely different species, and Zuko can’t figure out how it happened or how he can help. This man saved Zuko’s life, and Zuko can’t even get beyond the first step in helping save his.

How is he supposed to step up as the ruler of his nation in a couple of years if he can’t even help one person?

“Zuko!” Sokka calls to him, holding up a book from his position on the floor. When Zuko squints, he can just make out a familiar outline of a mermaid. They’re looking through an old children’s book of creatures and myths. “Seaperson!” Sokka excitedly points between the picture and himself with his free hand.

Zuko pointedly doesn’t think about how that particular picture is of a mermaid, a fantastical creature created to make fun of seapeople, or how the word ‘mermaid’ is used as a slur nowadays. Instead, he makes a mental note to throw that book out later and appreciates the smile on Sokka’s face.

His mental bulletin board is getting full, so he makes his way over to sit with Aang and Sokka. Appa stands to move himself to lay right in between both Zuko and Sokka so he can be pet by both. Sokka has both hands buried in his fur.

Aang continues through the book with Sokka, and Sokka effortlessly copies every sound he makes. The language sounds so natural in his voice. It’s almost hard to believe he’d only began speaking it yesterday.

Although Zuko could be wrong about that. Seapeople are known to be able to mimic other animals’ sounds, and some up north are rumored to be able to speak some of the languages of the people near them.

Zuko’s nation is much farther south, but he supposes it could be possible that Sokka could have come from up north. He doesn’t know enough about seapeople to tell for sure, though.

Zuko admits that he might have spaced out a bit listening to the repetitive sounds of them speaking, but he jumps to attention when Sokka is leaning over Appa and almost entirely into his lap.

“Witch!”

Sokka’s waving the book in his hand excitedly, and Zuko sees the cartoon witch using magic on the page. She has a wand and a pointy hat. Zuko isn’t sure why Sokka is so excited about it.

“A witch?”

Aang looks equally as confused, sending Zuko a shrug.

Sokka nods vigorously, pointing between the page and himself. “Seaperson! Witch! Sokka!”

Suki catches on instantly, jumping up from her chair. “The witch was a seaperson! A seaperson used magic on Sokka!”

Aang cheers, but Zuko feels even more lost than he did a minute ago. “But how? Seapeople haven’t been recorded to use magic.”

That deflates Suki and Aang a bit, though Sokka still looks cheery. “I mean, Sokka’s the only one who knows for sure, right? And if he says that’s what happened, then that’s what happened,” Aang says. “We should figure out why it happened.”

“Well, it happened within the twelve hours since he saved you, right Zuko?” Suki asks, and Zuko answers her with a nod. “Maybe he was punished for helping you. Seapeople haven’t exactly been receptive to humans lately.”

“No,” Zuko says quickly. “His people are visiting him. They want him back, you can tell. If he were just cast out, then they wouldn’t even be visiting him.”

No one says the obvious, about how when he was almost cast out, his uncle was prepared to leave with him. About how his mother and Azula fought for him. 

“Then maybe it’s a war. Maybe Sokka was targeted for political reasons.”

It’s well known that there is some social hierarchy in seapeople tribes. They seem to have a singular leader, and that mantel is passed down hereditarily, though it’s not easy to study. Although there hasn’t been any type of recorded conflict between tribes, Zuko supposes it is possible.

“How do we ask him if he’s any kind of underwater royalty, though? He’s learning words fast, but I don’t think he’s ready for sentences and questions,” Aang says.

“Might I suggest an alternative to book learning?”

They all turn towards the door, where Iroh stands in his full royal robes. He must have paused to speak with them on his way to a diplomatic meeting.

“You are trying to teach him to learn our language the way most adult foreigners do, through books and study. This is easier for them because translations are available. But have you considered teaching Sokka how to speak our language the way children do?”

“What do you mean, uncle?”

“Babies learn to speak from hearing those around them speak and copying it. Practice and application are the quickest ways to pick up a language. I’m sure Sokka will benefit from experiencing the language first hand.” Iroh turns to go but then calls out over his shoulder, “But since we are short on practical experiences, might I recommend help from film?”

Aang is the first to catch on this time. “Movie marathon!”

They watch a total of four movies before dinner, all of which amaze Sokka, and they learn that Sokka is, in fact, part of the underwater hierarchy. However, he seems reluctant to call himself a ‘prince.’ The three of them assume that the politics are more complicated than that — and to be fair, the movie simplifies the term prince anyhow — and don’t try to push it. Zuko takes Sokka back down to the beach to meet with his family once they’ve said goodnight to everyone.

They wait for an hour before Zuko sees Sokka’s head slump in the darkness as he points back to the hill, saying, “Zuko’s home.”

Zuko wants to say something to make Sokka feel better, but he knows that even if he could find the words, they would only make Sokka feel more isolated at not understanding. So Zuko does the next best thing and wraps an arm around Sokka’s shoulders while they walk back up the hill.

Zuko pointedly does not focus on how Sokka leans into him and instead lends his attention to how Sokka relies less on the walker than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPECIAL NOTE TO MY FRIENDS IN THE US: I know that you're probably sooo sick and tired of hearing this but if you can vote this year pleasepleasePLEASE make sure you do! Don't let anyone tell you that your one vote doesn't matter because it DOES! Your voice deserves to be heard! Don't let them erase us! This election is so messed up in so many ways but we have to do our part and make sure they know where we stand! And I know that it's probably causing so much anxiety right now believe me I know but this election is so important, it affects all of our lives! We need to do something! And if you can't vote! Tell your parents to vote! Tell your friends! Your neighbors! Your mutuals! Tell everyone to vote! I CANNOT stress how important it is to vote! And if you've already voted! Great! You're Great! Thank you! I love you! <3
> 
> SPECIAL NOTE TO MY FRIENDS OUTSIDE OF THE US: Everything is a mess right now! So if you can! Tell anyone and everyone that you happen to know living in the US to Vote! Please! I know this isn't your problem, but trust me when I say any little bit helps! And if you're already doing that or have no interest in doing that then thank you for your time! I love you! <3
> 
> <3


	6. Get Your Head Out Of The Clouds And Back In The Water Where It Belongs

Even after all this time, Sokka finds it very peculiar that humans eat at particular times of the day, all in a group. He and Zuko meet Iroh in the doorway of the eating room, and this time Aang is there with Suki and Appa and one other woman who is sitting with them. This is the first time Sokka has seen anyone new seated at the table in the month since Zuko introduced him to his sister and mother. Zuko and the woman greet each other with enthusiasm, so she quickly makes Sokka’s growing list of people he wants to get along with.

Once they’ve sat down, the people with identical clothing all place plates of food in front of them as the group of friends talk animatedly. Sokka does not recognize the food he’s being served, but he rarely does. He doesn’t think he’s been given the same food twice since he’s been human, but he’s hardly complaining. Sokka is particularly fond of the different types of meat they serve. Fish is great, sure, but the variety is also much appreciated.

Sokka tries to listen in to participate in the conversation, but they’re speaking faster than they usually do, and the new woman pronounces her words differently than he’s used to.

Like Suki and Aang, she must be from another country, though her voice doesn’t make the same lilts that he’s gotten used to hearing in their accents, so she must be from a place different from either of them. He does think that they’re speaking about him, though, with how often Aang is sending him smiley looks, but they don’t say his name until a full minute has passed.

“His name is Sokka.”

The girl hasn’t looked at Sokka once, and even now, she doesn’t turn her head. Still, she’s cheery when she says, “Call me Toph.”

“Toph,” Sokka copies, trying to make her name sound right in his voice. The language he’s been learning differs from any sounds he would have typically been used to making, too low and abrupt and particular with each syllable, but he’s caught on quickly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sokka.”

Toph still doesn’t look at him when she answers, two quick sounds that Sokka doesn’t recognize, and he realizes that her eyes are glazed over and cloudy, as if she’s not focusing on anything in front of her.

Sokka doesn’t know how to ask and anyways figures it would be impolite to, so he just sticks to his assumption that Toph isn’t looking at anything because she  _ can’t _ . 

Thinking it makes him feel guilty, but knowing that she can’t see helps him feel a bit better about still not being able to speak correctly. She’s clearly good friends with all of them, and they don’t seem to mind that she’s unable to make eye contact with them or see the trick that Aang does with his food, so maybe they don’t mind that he still needs help communicating.

Maybe he can have a place among them, too.

He knows it’s pessimistic thinking. He knows that Katara and his dad are trying their hardest to find the seawitch. To break his curse.

Even if he hasn’t seen either of them in over a month.

And he should count himself lucky to have met these people instead of more hostile humans. He hadn’t ever expected hospitality like this when he was on the beach, especially not after his altercation with the aggressive humans who’d first found him. Still, Zuko had recognized him and shown him kindness. Sokka was finding friendship among people that most of his tribe considered enemies.

Would Sokka be an enemy, too, then? If he stayed this way, would he be considered no better to them than the humans they’ve always hated? Is that why Katara hasn’t come back for him?

“Sokka?”

Iroh is offering Sokka a cup of something steaming. Sokka recognizes the brown drink as his favorite; Iroh is almost always spotted with a pot of hot brown liquid with him. Sokka remembers thinking it looked disgusting, like polluted river water, though he can tell from the smell that that’s not what it is.

“Breathe,” Iroh says, then mimes the word, as he tends to do even with words Sokka knows. His chest puffs out as he sucks in air, then deflates as he lets it all out. He hands Sokka the cup, urges him to drink, then repeats his instructions to breathe.

The drink tastes almost like warm water, with a delicately sweet afternote. Sokka finds himself smiling as he takes a deep breath in, per Iroh’s request. He continues to sip at the drink afterward, calming considerably. He wonders if his stress was as evident to everyone as they were to the older man, especially as he notices Zuko sending Iroh a grateful smile in between talking to his friends.

After everyone has finished eating, the group of friends walk through the corridors together, stopping at each person’s room to tell them goodnight before continuing to the next one to drop off the next person. It’s the first time they’ve done this, though Sokka finds it fun and wonders if now that Toph is staying, they’ll do it more often. He hopes so.

Aang’s room is closest to Sokka and Zuko’s rooms, which are in the same hallway as each other, so they walk together for the most extended amount of time, possibly disturbing the inhabitants behind each door they pass with their laughing and yelling.

By the time Zuko leaves Sokka at his own door, Sokka doesn’t want to let go of the company. He considers coming up with an excuse, some question about something that they both know he’s fully capable of doing, like about toothpaste or pajamas, but knows that the prince wouldn’t fall for it.

He asks, anyway.

“Zuko, can I shut the window?”

Sokka isn’t sure about the word for the fabric that hangs in front of the window, but he knows that Zuko understands what he means when he nods his head and moves inside to pull it closed, cutting off the sight of the beach. Sokka’s never used that fabric to cover the window, finding the view comforting at night.

Zuko sees right through him, though, and instead of saying goodnight and leaving, he takes a seat at a chair next to the window.

“Do you miss your sister?”

“Yes,” Sokka smiles and sits on the bed. “I miss my family.”

Zuko frowns and looks towards the window. “I’m sorry they weren’t there tonight. We’ll go back first thing in the morning.”

Sokka doesn’t understand some of the words Zuko says but knows enough to appreciate the sentiment. Sokka likes that they don’t butcher their messages to avoid things he doesn’t already know when they speak to him. They talk to him the same way they speak to each other and clarify anything he’s confused about. He won’t admit it to Aang for fear of breaking his heart, but that alone has helped him more than all of their movie marathons combined.

“Will Toph stay?”

Zuko nods, rubbing at his shoulder. “She usually stays longer than anyone. Now that the summer’s ending, the others will get ready to leave, but Toph will stay for a while. My sister will come back too.”

“Who is leaving?” Sokka asks for clarification, his smile dropping into a deep frown.

“Aang and Suki will leave at the end of the month.”

“Why?”

Over the last month, the most significant adaptation Sokka had to make to live among humans was understanding their language, but a week or so ago, he learned to ask  _ why _ and it’s helped him understand their cultures better than spoken word would have ever. Sokka’s learned why Aang has tattoos covering his body and why Zuko’s friends sound different when speaking the same word. He’s learned why Suki wakes up early to train every morning and why Zuko is next in line for the throne after his uncle. It’s his favorite thing to ask because it’s one thing to know the word  _ arrow, _ but it’s another entirely to know the reason Aang placed arrows to mark paths down his limbs and up to his head.

Right now, though, the word tastes bitter, and he feels like he has to spit it out.

“They have responsibilities at their homes,” Zuko answers. “They only come here for vacation sometimes, just to visit.”

“When will they come back?”

Zuko looks a bit sad when he says he doesn’t know.

The last thing Sokka wants to do is to upset Zuko.

He remembers having to cheer up his sister a lot when they were younger. The loss of their mother hit the whole tribe hard, but Katara took it the hardest, so Sokka got good at distracting her from her feelings. He would most often convince her to sneak away with him to watch the seals sunbathing on ice floats or pods of whales passing by if there were any near them.

“Can we see the pond?”

Zuko is surprised but doesn’t question anything. Sokka makes sure that the walk to the courtyard is filled with Zuko’s laughter. He’s also learned about his fondness for that — making others laugh. Zuko, in particular, doesn’t seem like he does much of that on his own, so pride always fills Sokka’s chest when he can get Zuko to laugh. 

Once they’re standing by the still water in the courtyard, they both fall silent.

Sokka wonders if Zuko is lonely. He isn’t sure where Zuko’s father is, but he knows that Zuko’s mother, Ursa, lives in a different part of the country with her family, and his sister Azula spends the majority of her time away from the palace. Iroh and Zuko seem to spend a reasonable amount of time together, but Sokka knows that it can’t be enough.

Zuko seems happy with his friends. Sokka wonders if he’s as happy when they’re gone, though. He is comforted by the knowledge that Toph will stay, at least.

Sokka finds himself wishing that he could stay, too.

Zuko turns to Sokka very suddenly, jolting him out of his thoughts. “Do you like it here?”

“Yes,” Sokka says. “I like the turtles. And the ducks. These turtles are different from the turtles that I see in the ocean.”

Zuko deflates a little bit but smiles back at Sokka. “My mother had the pond built when she married my father. I used to spend all day here.”

“Built?” Sokka asks.

“Umm…” Zuko thinks for a second, tugging at the sleeves of his robes. “Made, I guess. She had someone make the pond for her.” 

“The pond is very...cute?” Sokka says, a bit unsure about the wording. When Aang had taught Sokka ‘cute’ last week, it was about one of the smaller ducks in the pond. Since then, he’s only recognized it when used for little things that had a distinct look to them, often round or furry, and more than often, it was used for animals. Maybe cute is an inappropriate word to use.

“Beautiful,” Zuko supplies for him, watching the branches of the tree sway in the low light. “When you really really like the way something looks, but in a serious way, it’s beautiful. Or lovely.”

“Beautiful,” Sokka repeats, liking the way the word sounds. Zuko smiles up at the leaves, but Sokka knows that the smile is for him, and he thinks that’s beautiful, too. “Lovely.”

They stay silent on the walk back to Sokka’s room, and Sokka almost shuts the door on Zuko before he realizes that Zuko is asking if they can go back to the pond tomorrow. Sokka agrees with a smile and retreats back into his room to start doing his before-sleep tasks.

He wonders if Zuko meant he wanted to go back to the pond the same way they did tonight, or if he wanted to go back during the middle of the day when they would typically spend their time with the others. Would the others come with them tomorrow?

Sokka is surprised to find himself hoping they don’t.

He likes Zuko’s friends — he does. He enjoys being around them, but spending time with Zuko alone has always been different. Calmer. Sokka feels more contented when it’s just the two of them.

He is growing very fond of Zuko. Of all of them, really, but mainly Zuko.

So what is going to happen then, if Katara comes back for him? What happens if she is there in the morning, with the secret to curing him?

What if he goes home tomorrow?

And what if he doesn’t want to leave yet?

The fact that the thought keeps crossing his mind jolts at Sokka, but he can’t deny the truth of it. He misses his family deeply, his tribe, but he’s come to like this. Soft hair and warm showers, the immense variety of food and customizable clothing, even the way humans sleep is addicting! He doesn’t want to leave all of this behind.

He doesn’t think he wants to leave the human friends he’s made behind, either.

He’s only seen a fraction of what’s out there in the world, but maybe he wants to explore the human world, too. He wants to see where Aang was born and where Suki trains with her friends. He wants to see where Zuko’s youngest sister, Kiyi, is growing up. He wants to experience the different cultures of each place and learn their languages.

He’s not supposed to want to be a human this much.

Sokka gets out of the shower before fully rinsing off the stuff in his hair and get dressed quickly.

He’s tired, and all he wants is to climb into his soft bed with the soft pillows and sleep deeply, deeper than he ever could in the ocean, but that’s why he can’t.

He runs instead, outside the way that they always go when they walk to the beach every sunrise and sunset to see if Katara or his father are waiting for him.

He slows to a brisk walk when he passes the guards standing at the gate that takes him out of the palace walls and onto the sandy path, and they don’t say anything to him. They’re used to seeing him make this journey by now.

He doesn’t stop until he gets to the edge of the water, where he drops to his knees to catch his breath. Against his better judgment, the judgment that sent him fleeing to the ocean to begin with, he feels proud of his progress. Just a week ago, he still had to stop every few minutes to give his legs rest when he walked for too long. Yesterday, the doctor that Zuko had been having see him (a physical therapist, Sokka distantly recalls) had told Sokka that he’d progressed very quickly in his ability to use his legs, and Zuko had celebrated with Sokka by showing him what ice cream was.

The ocean is dark, too dark to make out if there are any figures in the water, but the sound is calming. Sokka waits until his breathing is evened out before he stands again, ignoring the soreness in his legs.

He’s knee-deep after only a few steps, and standing in the moving water is much more difficult than he’d imagined. Before, when dealing with the pushing and pulling of waves and currents, Sokka used that movement in his favor. Now the water works against him, trying to push him down.

Another two steps, and the water is slapping against his stomach.

It’s starting to gain the advantage now in pushing him back so he’ll lose his balance just enough, then it’ll pull at him, sending him another foot farther into the waves. Sokka imagines Katara’s ability; he imagines her using it to bring him home.

Once Sokka is far enough into the sea that his foot hits nothing but water with his next step, a swell crashes against his face, and he’s underwater.

The panic slams into Sokka almost as hard as the waves do. He feels just the same as he had when he’d first been turned human; blind, suffocated, afraid.

He desperately tries to find his footing, but he isn’t sure which way is down anymore. Is he still near the beach, or has the water already dragged him out farther than he could hope to get back from?

At one point, his head resurfaces, and he takes the opportunity to take in a large breath of air, but half of what enters his mouth is bitter salt water, and he chokes on it. Water rises above his head again, but his feet make contact with sand below him, and he uses the feeling of it to get his bearings.

When he’s able to get his head above water again, he’s facing the lights of the palace in the distance. He keeps himself facing that direction and moves as close to the shore as possible until, finally, his feet stay steady in the sand at the same time as his head can stay above water.

The ocean water clings to him as he steps out of it, weighing him down so that by the time he is entirely out of it, he is crawling. He never thought of water as being so heavy.

Sokka lays there in the sand, well away from the water’s edge, and sleeps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been the longest month of my life and it's not over yet, but the last couple of chapters shouldn't take this long, promise. School is starting to finish up for me, which leaves more time for this.
> 
> Also, I did not comb through this as thoroughly as I would have liked to, so there are bound to be a few mistakes which I apologize for. I might come back and fix them in a couple of days, but I really really just wanted to get this up for you guys ASAP
> 
> <3


	7. If You Want To Cross A Bridge, My Sweet, You've Got To Pay The Toll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one? I hear you ask
> 
> So soon? I feel you wonder
> 
> Over a month for the last chapter, and you put out this one in four days? You would be correct to accuse
> 
> Look I've been waiting for this exact chapter since august okay, this is the chapter that I've been waiting for since the very beginning so it's been all I could think about while I was busy writing every other chapter before this one
> 
> So! You get double the chapter length! Double the mushy crushing stuff! Double the suspense!! And way less than half the wait time what a deal!!

Katara is exhausted and devastated. She’s been searching for a way to bring her brother home for weeks, and this is all she has to show for it? The falling-apart body of a dead traitor to her people and a slate knife that Sokka might not even take from her?

What if he doesn’t take it?

Gathering all of her hope, she takes out her own blade and cuts her hair.

  
  
  


Sokka only stops screaming at the people around him when he sees Suki rounding the corner in her uniform, followed closely by Zuko, Iroh, and their personal guards. He feels so relieved to see them he could collapse. Zuko will sort this out.

And he does. The men holding Sokka to the ground retreat as Iroh and Suki approach him, and Sokka watches as Zuko heads straight for the problem.

“Are you okay, Sokka?”

Sokka’s voice is almost as raw sounding as when he’d first began speaking, but Suki understands his croak as a confirmation that he’s alright. Iroh is talking to the men who had restrained him, but all Sokka wants is to go to where Zuko is standing, arguing with another group of people.

“With all due respect, your highness, it attacked them.”

“I don’t care! Release her!”

Suki tries to ask Sokka what happened, but Sokka is still spitting sand out of his mouth, and anyway, as they move closer to the dock, she gets her answer.

The fishing boat had pulled up to the shore with Yue tangled in rope hours before dawn, and it was her cries that woke Sokka. The crew of the ship almost couldn’t keep him away from the ties that secured her to the tail end of the moderately sized boat, but once the other people in uniform had shown up, Sokka had been yanked right from the ship and into the sand where he’d screamed at them for what felt like an hour.

The sun hasn’t even risen yet, but Zuko is wearing the clothes he does when he has to attend his meetings, though Sokka can see the small details that give away he’d rushed getting dressed. Zuko came out to help him with the intention of looking like a prince.

Yue is still hanging in the air from the rope, her tail only grazing the waves as they lap up the side of the boat.

No one stops Suki as she helps Sokka over to the end of the dock to get as close as possible to Yue.

Yue is silent, but she clearly recognizes Sokka.

Eventually, the crew cut loose the ropes the bind her and she drops into the water. At first, Sokka is terrified that she might just swim away, but he can see her white hair just beneath the surface.

“I need to talk to her,” Sokka tells them, and Zuko nods. He leads the two of them through the crowd at the end of the dock to the shore, and both he and Suki step into the water with Sokka as he tries to beckon Yue out from under the pier.

Yue’s tribe in the north is among those who were known to speak human languages on occasion. After learning about how different parts of the human world speak different languages, though, Sokka doesn’t have much hope that she would be able to recognize a language from so far south, so he doesn’t call to her.

She does call to him, though.

“Sokka? Is that you?”

She’d come out of the shadow of the docks, but all Sokka can see is her milky hair floating on the top of the water. She can probably see him perfectly in the moonlight, though. She’s not far, but still not in shallow water. She’s insecure about her safety.

“They told me what happened, but I couldn’t even imagine— I had to see you for myself.”

Sokka’s legs feel like jelly, sore and shaky, so he doesn’t go farther than knee-deep into the water, but he can still hear Yue perfectly. It’s been so long since he listened to the voice of a seaperson, he’d forgotten how loud their voices carry.

Zuko stands tall next to Sokka. Sokka can feel Zuko’s eyes on him, and that helps him also stand tall as he looks into the waves, even if he has to lean a bit on his friends, too.

“Katara said kind humans were helping you. I’m glad to see that you’re okay.” Yue moves a bit closer, and Sokka sees her head lift entirely out of the water. Her hair sticks to her shoulders, and her sharp teeth glimmer in the low light as she smiles. Sokka tried not to think about how the image is so unsettling to him now; her teeth and wet hair shining in the darkness, while her dark skin is formless to his new eyes.

He once thought of Yue’s skin as smoother than anyone else’s, but now he wonders if his newly softened skin would enjoy the feeling of her hands as much as it used to.

“She and your father found the one who did this to you,” Yue says. “They sent me back to make sure you were okay. We’ve all been searching for ages, but they found her.”

She looks at Sokka expectantly, and Sokka wants to react, wants to say something to her to let her know how relieved he is to hear that his family is okay and that they haven’t been avoiding him, but he’s startled by a light touch at his cheek.

Zuko is wiping at Sokka’s cheek with a shocked look on his face. Sokka didn’t even realize he was crying.

“My family is okay,” he explains to Zuko and smiles. Zuko smiles back softly, and Sokka remembers that word from yesterday:  _ beautiful _ .

“That’s good,” Suki says, and Sokka nods as he turns back to face Yue, who has gotten closer.

“Katara said she would be here soon. They’re not nearby, maybe a daylight’s journey, but she’ll come as soon as she knows how to help you.”

“Thank you,” Sokka says to her, and even though she doesn’t understand the words, she doesn’t question him, and the whiteness of her hair disappears under the dark water.

“Are you okay?”

Sokka waves away Zuko’s concern as the three of them turn to start the walk back up to the palace.

“What happened? Did you hurt your legs?”

“No, they’re tired.”

“How long were you out here? Why didn’t you come to get me before you came to look for your sister?”

On the beach, Iroh offers Sokka a small blanket and a bottle of water, which helps Sokka’s throat a bit and clears his head.

Explaining what happened goes over just about as well as Sokka expects. Zuko’s response is explosive but mostly concerned, Suki quietly chastises him in between Zuko loudly scolding him, and Iroh promises to send something to Sokka’s room as they part ways at the palace gate.

Suki eventually separates from them, but Zuko stays by Sokka’s side and helps him into his room. Zuko sends him into the bathroom to shower, and he has to use his walker like he used to when he first started living at the palace. Afterward, he finally gets to change into clean and dry clothes and climb into his soft bed. Zuko is sitting in a chair next to the bed, reading, and wordlessly offers a steaming cup of brown liquid.

Sokka accepts it with a small “Thank you.” Then, after his first sip, he asks, “Zuko, what is this?”

Zuko smiles but doesn’t look up from his book as he answers, “Tea.”

  
  
  


When Sokka wakes up, he can tell the sun hasn’t been in the sky for very long, and Zuko is still sitting by his bedside reading from a small stack of books. A pot of tea is steaming next to him.

"Are you okay?"

Sokka nods his head and slowly sits up. "What time is it?"

"You've only been sleeping for an hour. Are you hungry?"

"No." Sokka wipes at his eyes. He still feels tired, and his legs are sore, but he knows that he won't be able to rest any more until he gets some answers. "How do you walk in the water?"

Zuko stares at him for a second. "Swim?"

"Swim?"

"Moving in the water—floating and stuff—that's called swimming."

"How do you swim?"

Zuko sets his book down on the table and stands abruptly, his face hardening. “Is that what you were trying to do last night? Swim away?”

“No,” Sokka says, but even to his ears he doesn’t sound convincing. He isn’t sure what his goal was last night. He just knew that he needed to see the ocean and get away from the palace, so that’s what he did. “I don’t know.”

Zuko’s disappointment doesn’t last long on his face, though. “I’ll teach you how to swim. But not until you get more rest.”

  
  
  


Sokka had seen cars from a distance. He’d watched them drive along cliffsides and park along sandy shores, and he’d even watched from his window as people visiting the palace climbed in and out of them. But this, getting into something so alien to him, was exhilarating.

It travels much faster than Sokka expected, and so that’s what he attributes the small lurch in his stomach to when it starts going.

And either Sokka is wearing his excitement too plainly—and he really is trying to mask it, he doesn’t want to give off the impression that he is so easily impressed— or Zuko had just expected the reaction, because once he shows Sokka how to lower the window, it’s all over.

Sokka spends the majority of the ride with his face right up to the open air. Not hanging over the edge, because he doesn’t have a death wish and can see how fast some of these other cars are traveling, but comfortably perched right against the door.

They pass by so many people it makes Sokka’s head dizzy with the sight. And he doesn’t think he’s ever experienced so many different smells — both pleasant and not so much so — in such a short about of time.

He does start to sweat, though, and the hot, humid air must also be getting to Zuko because when Sokka turns his head to point out someone wearing an outfit he likes, Zuko’s face is slightly red. Sokka rolls the window back up for him and continues to watch the scenery go by in the comfort of the cool air inside the car.

When they arrive at the short building, someone comes outside to greet one of Zuko’s guards at the door, while Sokka waits for Zuko to gather things from the back of the car.

Going in through the building is a quick but complicated process, which Zuko helpfully explains the entire time. They remove their shoes to keep the floor clean, and then they are given a key to what Zuko calls a locker, where they put their stuff. They have to change into clothes that Zuko brought for them and put a piece of plastic over their hair, and then they have to take what Sokka deems as a fake shower. They don’t clean anything, just stand in the water like they’re pretending to clean themselves, so Sokka doesn’t see the point, but he’s too excited to care.

Finally, they enter the swimming room, which consists of a large pond of clear water.

Zuko explains that it’s called a pool, and it’s where people come to swim for fun.

The large room is empty except for Zuko’s guards, who stand off to the side, along with the man who’d come to greet them outside, but Sokka is still a bit nervous. Zuko had explained multiple times to Sokka that only a few people knew about his circumstances, but he would still find it embarrassing if he—the only person in the room who could once breathe underwater—drowned. Even if Zuko is the only one here who would know it.

Zuko is patient with him, though, and the water only comes up to their shoulders, so Sokka supposes it isn’t too bad.

The water here is...different, though, and Sokka isn’t sure he likes it. It not bitter and salty like the ocean, or smooth and refreshing like the water they drink or that comes out of faucets. It’s not even cool and earthy, like the water that flows from rivers or sits in the pond at home. It’s— sharp. And bad. Sokka doesn’t like the feel of it against his skin very much.

Zuko explains that they put chemicals in it to keep it clean since so many people use the pool. He says that it helps keep people from getting sick but tells Sokka to be careful about getting it in his mouth or eyes because it’s unpleasant.

Sokka wants to ask how he can possibly learn how to swim without getting water in his mouth or eyes, but then he gets a bit of water in his mouth, and the taste shocks him into a coughing fit that makes Zuko laugh. Zuko says that Sokka should be grateful they’re not at a pool that allows children, otherwise he would be able to smell the chemical badly. Sokka doesn’t comment on the water quality again.

Sokka learns how to float first, which is easier than he’d expected it to be for humans, though he supposes having two giant bags of air inside of you would do that. He says as much to Zuko, a bit bitterly, which makes him laugh loud enough for the sound to echo back at them from the other end of the empty room.

Sokka wonders if pride is something physical that can fill your lungs along with air because his chest feels swollen with it. He wonders if it helps him stay afloat.

When Zuko’s hands return to their position on Sokka’s back to keep him floating, the pride in his chest burns, and it feels somewhat familiar to Sokka, so he resolves to stop thinking about it immediately.

Once Zuko deems that Sokka has the floating thing down, he has Sokka grab onto the side of the pool and drag himself around the perimeter of it while floating. Sokka does this for precisely twenty seconds before stopping and turning to tell Zuko that he looks stupid, and then he realizes that there is no floor beneath him, and his remark is cut short by a very undignified yelp.

“You don’t look stupid. You are in the deeper end, though, so be careful,” Zuko says, but rather than concerned, he looks amused. He’s teasing Sokka.

“Oh, yes, thank you.” Sarcasm. Sarcasm is one of Sokka’s favorite things about language, and he was delighted to find out that it’s universal.

Sokka continues his lap around the edge of the water, quietly grumbling to himself, and when he finishes back around to where Zuko is waiting for him, he tries not to smile at Zuko’s smug face.

Afterward, Sokka learns to keep himself floating in deeper water without holding onto anything by kicking his feet the way Zuko shows him. This is the first time Sokka feels productive about learning to swim, and so he can’t keep the smile off his face when he’s able to do it successfully.

“It seems so tired, though. How do you do it for so long?”

“Tiring,” Zuko correctly softly, “if it’s happening right now, then it’s tiring. Usually, you don’t swim in place like that for very long, but your arms help, too. You have to move them like this.”

The swaying motions with his arms are comforting to Sokka because he was used to doing something similar while swimming before, to direct himself while moving. He catches onto it pretty quickly.

“What’s next?”

Zuko opens his mouth, but a whistle cuts him off from off to the side of the room. A woman Sokka hadn’t noticed is wearing a plastic cap on her head just like they are, and she’s staring at them expectantly.

“It’s time to get out,” Zuko says and starts moving back towards the edge of the pool.

“Why? Is it her turn?”

Zuko shakes his head. “You can’t stay in the water for too long; you need a break. We should probably go anyways, it’s getting late, and my uncle wanted to talk to you before dinner.”

They go through their process again, and Sokka is grateful for the fake shower this time around. He was starting to feel itchy and uncomfortable being soaked in that chemical water, but rinsing with the faucet water makes him feel much better.

The ride back to the palace is even more exciting to Sokka. He rolls the window down again and watches the lights pass by in a blur as the sun begins to set. Even the air coming through the window is cooler now, and it leaves his shoulders cold where his wet hair is soaking into his shirt.

This time, Sokka asks Zuko questions about the things they pass, and that burning feeling fills his chest again when Zuko scoots against his side to point them out. Zuko promises to take Sokka out one day soon to see the city properly, and Sokka’s grateful for the wind when he feels his face starting to heat up.

Suki is waiting for them at the end of the walkway, where the cars drop them off. She’s still in uniform, which confuses Sokka at first because he’s not used to seeing her wearing it this late in the day. 

Sokka can tell the moment Zuko realizes something’s wrong because his back straightens, and his posture turns defiant, like he’s preparing himself for an attack. When they approach her, though, she turns to Sokka.

“A seaperson has been in the harbor for almost thirty minutes, and we think she’s looking for you. The warriors are guarding her for you, and Iroh has ordered all other personnel to stay clear of her until we know for sure.”

If it were Yue in the harbor, Suki would have metioned it being the same seaperson as last night, so it must be Katara.

Sokka has never gone to the beach from the front of the palace before, though, so he has to follow behind Zuko and Suki as they lead him around the stone gate and out towards the familiar path. Sokka is vaguely away of Zuko’s guards following behind them in a slight panic, but once they pass a group of women dressed identically to Suki—the first time Sokka’s seen her warriors, and he wonders in the back of his mind what they’re here for—the sound of their footsteps disappear.

Circling the wooden posts of one of the empty docks is a flash of blue and white scales, and Sokka feels so relieved to see her familiar patternization, the same one that’d once decorated his own body, that he gasps with the feeling.

The others wait for him on the sand, but Sokka runs right to the edge of the dock and lays on the wood, leaning his face over the water. Katara rises up to him, and she appears equally as emotional.

“Sokka, I’m so sorry!”

“I’m just happy to see you,” Sokka tells her, then reaches out to pull her into a tight hug, hoping that the embrace explains his words to her.

“The seawitch is dead,” Katara says into his shoulder, and Sokka pulls back to look at her. He begins to understand her sadness for what it is.

“Oh,” he says.

He supposes he should feel devastated at the thought of never returning home, but he isn’t sure he knows what to feel. He feels numb, as if he’d expected it all along.

Katara begins to speak frantically. “I tried everything, we hunted her all night and all day, but when he finally caught her, she was just too far gone. I couldn’t get her to fix it, and there isn’t any other way.”

Katara reaches down into the hunting pouch tied around her waist and pulls up a small slate blade. Seeing it, the tool made and used by Sokka’s people for generations, almost makes him feel giddily nostalgic for when he was first shown how to make one by his grandmother. Blades aren’t common in hunting, though, more in everyday usage like skinning and preparing food for children, so Sokka assumes at first that this must be their grandmothers. Katara is presenting Sokka with a goodbye gift from their family.

She presses the handle of the blade into Sokka’s fist, and he feels a lock of hair wound tightly around it. Katara can tell the hair startles him because she tightens her hold on his fingers to keep him from dropping it.

“The seawitch was dying, and I begged her to save you, but she said that you didn’t deserve to be saved. She was angry, and I couldn’t say anything to change her mind. Sokka, I’m so sorry.”

“What-” Sokka begins, then stops himself. She won’t be able to understand him anyway.

“She said she was held captive here by humans with magic for years, and she was completely cut off from her tribe. She called you a traitor for saving that man, and that’s why she did this to you. She used the magic that she learned from the humans to do this to you, and it was too much for her body.”

Katara’s grip on his hand is turning painful, and he notices the water that’s holding her in the air is trembling. Her gaze isn’t even on him anymore; instead, she’s looking over his shoulder at the beach.

“But she said that you could come home, things can go back to normal, you just have to prove to her magic that you’re not a traitor. You have to prove that you don’t belong with the humans.”

Katara turns her head to look Sokka in the eye.

“You have to take this knife and kill the man you saved.”

Sokka isn’t sure if she releases her grip on him after finally getting out what she needed to say, or if a sudden burst of strength had possessed him, but he manages to get his hand free and shuffles back on the dock with the knife still clutched tightly in his hand, horrified.

“No,” he tells her, without even thinking. “I won’t.”

She looks sad, and Sokka is convinced that she understood him perfectly. “I know,” she says, and disappears back into the water without another word.

The knife in Sokka’s hand, comforting to see at first, now looks threatening. The hair wrapped around the handle is now unmistakably Katara’s, a message to him about what she thinks he should do. The thought of even considering it makes his stomach roll and head spin.

He must be sitting there staring at the blade for a while because before he knows it, Zuko is crouching down in front of him and speaking softly. Sokka feels too far away to hear the words Zuko is saying, but he takes one look at his worried face and throws the knife as far away from himself as he can.

He hopes Katara sees it as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The blade isn't described in detail because I didn't want to spend, like, two paragraphs describing how it looked, but it's loosely based on the traditional Inuit ulu blade, which, if you look up pictures of, you can tell it's not very effective looking for, say, killing someone, because it was not used for hunting. Which adds another level of horror and disbelief that the witch would leave that particular blade for Sokka to use to kill someone.
> 
> Just a neat detail I thought you'd enjoy.
> 
> One more chapter to go, and then an epilogue/bonus chapter of sorts, and then we're done!
> 
> This chapter was also very exciting to finally get out there, so it isn't as polished as I'd like but I promise to go through with an ultra fine-tooth comb and grab any mistakes I made in a couple of days


	8. What Would I Pay To Stay Here Beside You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse.

Sokka is possibly more hurt than he should be when he finds out that Zuko’s coronation is just days away and that Suki is the person to tell him. She seems equally confused that Sokka doesn’t already know.

He’d initially come to her to ask a favor, but the presence of her warriors in the room that she usually trained alone in had reignited his curiosity from last night over why they’re here at the palace rather than on their home island. She’d explained that Zuko had commissioned her warriors as security for the coronation, then had to explain what a correction was, exactly. 

“I’m sorry, I thought you knew.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sokka says, trying not to let it show how upset he is that he wasn’t told about it if it’s as big of a deal as Suki is making it seem.

“Did you want to watch training today?”

Sometimes, when Zuko was busy with Iroh or other people, Suki or Aang would invite Sokka to join them in whatever they’d planned to do for the day, and for Suki, that means Sokka sitting on the floor and watching her train while they talk. It had helped him feel less like a bother; Suki took the time to help him get used to communicating, but she did so without sacrificing her routines.

But now Sokka feels more confident on his feet than he ever has, and he wants to get rid of all this pent up energy that’s been stewing inside him since last night.

“Can I train with you?”

Sokka knows that the warriors are a group of elite women, and they have traditions that are sacred to them, so he is grateful when they excitedly agree to spend the morning teaching him.

He follows their customs as perfectly as he can manage, though one of the women has to help him wash off and reapply the color to his face when he manages to fumble the brush in his hands and ends up with a red streak across his nose.

When Sokka’s tribe expects to encounter aggressive humans, it’s customary to cover the face with a unique makeup pattern, but he’s surprised at how similar the results look. Most of the focus is on the same parts of the face — eyes, brows, and mouth — though they’re emphasized differently.

The warriors don’t have armor that will fit him, but they have robes that work well enough for him to move comfortably in. Still, when he stumbles on a form or trips against one of them in the middle of demonstrations, they insist that it  _ must _ be because of the short robes with teasing smiles on their faces, and, honestly, it’s exactly what he needs right now.

By the time Aang wanders in with Toph in tow and belts out a loud, “Hey Sokka! Nice dress!” he’s collected more bruises than he’s ever had in his life, but he’s also laughing harder with the five women than he would have thought possible just this morning. 

His muscles do ache, though, so he takes advantage of the arrival by grabbing a bottle of water and sitting down to say hi.

“Good morning.”

“If I had known you would be training with the Kyoshi Warriors today, I would have gotten Toph here sooner!”

Toph snorts and raises an eyebrow. “What, so I can watch them punch each other?”

Sokka laughs before he probably should have, considering the nature of the joke, but Aang’s look of realization is priceless. Toph can’t see it but looks smug nonetheless. 

“You’re here now, at least. I’m getting better,” Sokka tells him, but Aang’s grin is wiped away when Suki speaks up from the other side of the room. 

“We have to meet with Iroh soon. I’m sorry, Sokka. If you want, you can join us again tomorrow morning?”

Sokka’s a bit disappointed, but at least he won’t be left alone. He smiles at her. “I’ll beat you tomorrow.”

The warriors laugh, though not unkindly, and Ty Lee hops over to hug him before they file out the door.

“Man, I was looking forward to that. All of the girls look so cool when they train together.”

“I know, what a shame we won’t get to see how cool they look,” Toph remarks, and Aang shoots her an annoyed look.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you a question, Aang,” Sokka says, stepping out of his burrowed robes.

  
  
  


Sokka’s hair has gotten softer over the weeks, but Zuko had explained that the stuff he rubs into it in the shower would do that. Sokka had been excited for that, but now it’s getting much too long for his liking. He wonders if a side-effect of soft hair is that it grows too fast. Or maybe that’s just a human thing in general.

“How short do you want it?”

Sokka assumes Aang is referring to the hair on the top of his head, which he doesn’t mind getting longer now that water isn’t an issue. Sokka used to keep the sides of his hair shaved short, though, and the way it’s growing out is starting to bother him. He explains this to Aang, who is visibly relieved.

“I can do that! Shaving is my specialty.” 

Now that Sokka’s thinking about it, though, he probably should at least cut his hair a bit shorter. It now hangs to his armpits when it’s down, though he still pulls it back pretty often. Maybe he can do that himself later.

“How long is this going to take? We’ll miss breakfast,” Toph complains through a yawn.

“Not long at all!” Aang reassures her, though Sokka can tell it won’t be quick, either.

To make the time seem to go by faster, he fills the silence. “Where are you from, Toph?”

Toph hadn’t seemed to Sokka to be the type of person to open up about themselves so casually, but it’s as if the questions he asks are poking at a dam. It only takes a few prods before she’s loudly complaining to him about her parents and childhood. On top of that, she patiently explains away his questions between each mini-rant. Sokka wonders if someone had explained his situation to her.

She’s still griping to him when they walk into breakfast, though no one bats an eye at Toph’s raised voice. 

“And they just broke into my yard! I mean, we were kids but don’t you think even a kid would be smart enough  _ not _ to break into the house of the richest family in town. We had guards and shit, but I was the one who found them, because of course, as a twelve-year-old blind girl, I was more capable than a bunch of grown men. No offense to all the grown men in the room, but also a little offense.”

“None taken,” Iroh chirps cheerily from his seat at the head of the table. “Even at twelve, you were a very strong and independent girl with instincts I could only dream of.” Iroh gestures to two empty seats next to him, across from Zuko and Suki, and Sokka guides Toph to her place.

“You must have all known each other for so long,” Sokka comments. “How did you meet? You’re all from completely different parts of the world.”

“It’s been ten years since I was introduced to Zuko’s friends,” Iroh starts, leaning in conspiratorially towards Sokka. He continues in a mock whisper, “My nephew once likened himself to a loner, someone who did not make friends easily. And yet he still manages to form relationships with others from the most unexpected places.”

A glance across the table confirms that every person in the room hears Iroh’s so-called attempt at whispering. Everyone is smiling widely, and most of them are turned towards a very red-faced prince.

Said prince looks like he’s considering storming out of the room, but Aang stands to drape an arm over his shoulders, keeping him firmly in place.

“Sifu hotman! I didn’t know you opened yourself up after meeting us!”

Zuko removes Aang’s arm and avoids making eye contact with anyone but Iroh. “I didn’t.”

“I met Zuko back when he was trying to kill me,” Aang continues, ignoring the way Zuko had attempted to shut him down.

“What?” Sokka is pretty sure he heard that wrong.

“Me too,” Suki says.

“Eh, I never really had any problems with Zuko in the beginning. When he burnt my feet, on the other hand…”

“Wait, what?” Sokka is less sure that he’s hearing wrong.

“Can we please not do this tonight?” Zuko asks, his face still red. “Please.”

Suki’s smile is teasing as she says, “Why? You don’t want your  _ new friend Sokka _ to hear all about how you’re terrible at first impressions?”

Sokka laughs. “Well, when I met Zuko, I was naked and had just bitten a man’s leg, so as the best at bad first impressions, I think I deserve to hear all these stories.”

“What!” Toph stands from her spot at the table and nearly screeches, reaching over to blindly grab onto Sokka’s face and shake his head back and forth without any real force. “Tell! Me! The story! Right! Now!”

Aang starts telling the story happily, but Zuko keeps having to correct him, so he ends up being the one to tell it. Which is just fine because Sokka can’t stop laughing, and he thinks that maybe if he did, he might start crying instead. Toph reminds Sokka of his little sister in such a deep way it hurts.

It’s unanimously decided that Toph will get the unabridged version of Sokka’s story, which ends with her slowly sitting back in her seat and letting out a quiet “Damn dude, that sucks.”

"It's not as bad as you think," Sokka says, making sure to keep his voice cheery.

"Don't you miss your family?"

"l miss the whole tribe," he admits. He's been trying to avoid thinking about it all morning, but he honestly doesn't know if he'll ever see his friends or family again.

Sokka does know that he could never go through with the condition to break the curse, so even if he does see them again, it will never be like it was. There’s no going back.

"But there isn't anything l can do about it now. Last night my sister told me that the witch who did this to me is dead." 

A deep silence falls over the room, everyone freezing. This is the first time Sokka is telling any of them.

Zuko is the first to speak, leaning forward in his seat. Sokka can't decipher his expression. "They found her?"

Sokka nods.

“Well, maybe we can still reverse it without her,” Suki says, though her eyes are shinier than they were moments before. She doesn’t appear to be alone since Aang is shaking his head vigorously while rubbing at his eyes. Sokka is indescribably touched that these people, his  _ friends _ , have come to care so much for him. “Did they find out how she was able to use magic? Or why she used it on you?”

“You can reverse engineer the intentions!” Aang exclaims hopefully.

Sokka hesitates. He doesn’t want to tell them what his sister had said to him. He doesn’t want to make it seem as if this is any of their responsibilities. Especially Zuko.

He takes a deep breath and speaks slowly. He only wants to say this once. “When my tribe first found the witch, she was dying from the magic in her body. My sister told me that the witch learned magic from humans who had held her captive years ago. When she used her power against me, it was too much for her body. She died not long after they found her.”

Everyone is quiet again for a moment before whispers erupt around Sokka. Aang explains something to Toph, he thinks, and Suki is almost out of her chair and waving her hands frantically in Zuko’s direction as he nods to whatever she’s saying.

Iroh stands silently, though no one pays him any mind until he stops at Sokka’s seat and rests a hand on his shoulder.

“Would you mind joining me for a walk, Sokka? It is a lovely morning.”

Sokka had been on one walk with Iroh before, but that was before he had completely gotten over his dependency of his burrowed walker. He remembers fumbling on nearly every corner they turned, but Iroh was always patient with him and took his time walking to allow Sokka the ability to adjust to his new method of mobility.

Now though, Sokka realizes that Iroh just, kind of, walks like that.

Even though Sokka knows that Iroh is a very busy man — he remembers Zuko complaining about being lucky enough to see Iroh at meals nowadays, and Aang said he suspected that would change soon — he walks at a leisurely pace, as if he has all the time in the world.

And Sokka wouldn’t say he  _ hates  _ it, but right at this moment, he probably hates it.

He feels restless, like he needs to do  _ something _ ; he just has no idea what.

“You seem upset. I wanted to offer my ear to you in case you want to relieve some of the burdens from your shoulders,” Iroh says. Sokka notices the two guards start to fall a few paces behind them. “If not, then I enjoy the company.”

“Burdens on my shoulders?” Sokka asks.

“Things that are troubling you,” Iroh clarifies.

“Oh.”

Sokka  _ is _ upset. He can’t lie to himself about that. And he can see why the others might think he’s upset, especially after that discussion. Sokka expects it. But having Zuko’s uncle spell it out for him is unnerving.

“Did you sleep okay last night, Sokka?”

Sokka did not. He couldn’t bring himself to lay in his bed when all he could think of was that blade his sister pressed into his hand and how Zuko had hovered at his door after the slow walk back to the palace.

Sokka couldn’t bring himself to lay in his nice, soft bed when all he could think about was the slap of the slate against the water and the muscle-memory etched into his hands of slicing through seal pelts.

“No.”

“Are you worried about your people?”

Sokka wants to reply that yes, of course, he’s beyond worried about his people, but he knows that it would be a lie. He misses his people, but he doesn’t worry about them. He might have been the son of the chief, future leader of his tribe, but in Hakoda and Katara’s capable hands, his people will flourish as they have. 

He is worried about his family.

Last night Sokka looked his baby sister in the eye and refused to consider going home with her. He’ll never regret making that choice, but the guilt will follow him all the same.

What if that was the last time he’ll ever see her?

“Are you worried that they will reject you?”

_ No, _ is his instant answer, but he hesitates. Seapeople, and his tribe, in particular, have never had a good relationship with humans. Sokka’s tribe had taken it upon themselves over the last hundred years to step in against humans who pollute, poach and overfish the oceans. And they’re not above attacking the human ships they’ve caught practicing any of these acts, either.

It can’t be avoided that Sokka’s attacked humans before; he has been attacked  _ by _ humans before, and convenience shouldn’t let him forget that.

Humans took his mother from him. He’s hated humans. All of his people despise humans.

He tries to remember that hate, to imagine what his people must feel for him now that he’s chosen humans over them ( _ one particular human _ ).

He can’t bring himself to feel the tense rage in his chest that he used to.

He tries to imagine his mother and the crew of sailors who killed her, but he can’t unsee Aang playing with Appa on the deck of a ship, with the warriors laughing at Ty Lee’s attempt to remain balanced doing a handstand with the waves. He can’t unsee Suki draping an arm around Toph to steer her away from the edge of the railing inconspicuously, so the smaller girl doesn’t realize she’s being fretted over.

He can’t unsee Zuko, standing broodily off to the side while he watches his friends as they come over to hug him one-by-one, wishing him happy birthday and teasing him about his anti-social tendencies.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they did,” Sokka finally says. He realizes that they’re standing in the middle of the hall and wonders if Iroh had just decreased his speed enough for them to stop without Sokka noticing or if Sokka was the one who stopped them when he got distracted.

“Why is that?”

Sokka does not want to talk about it. The entire time he’s been a guest at the palace, they’ve avoided speaking about the natural animosity between the humans and the seapeople. He’d managed to even forget, at times, that he’d been raised to hate the people he’s becoming so fond of.

“They don’t see humans as just a threat— to them, humans are greedy monsters. Even if we can find a way to fix this with old magic, they might not even take me back because I made it clear that I don’t feel the way they do.”

Iroh begins walking again, very slowly. Sokka finds he doesn’t mind as much this time.

“You don’t feel that way?”

“Not anymore,” Sokka admits.

“But you used to.”

Sokka winces but nods.

“And they know this — that you feel differently about humans — because you saved my nephew?”

“No,” Sokka rushes to deny, memories of last night flashing before his eyes. Then he realizes that there is no way for Iroh to know and that he is referring to the shipwreck a month ago, and he says “Yes.” But that doesn’t sound right, so Sokka adds on an unsure, “Kind of?”

“Well,” Iroh starts, unfazed by Sokka’s cryptic answer, “I think that if you could learn to change your heart, they could as well. Humans have never been kind to the beings we share the world with, but I was wondering if you would mind helping us with that.”

Then, because Iroh has impeccable timing, they turn a corner to come face-to-face with a large door. A guard rushes forward to open it.

“Would you like to join me for tea and a discussion about the future, Sokka?”

Iroh smiles at him, warm and friendly, and Sokka can’t help but return it.

  
  


Sokka isn’t sure how long he spends in Iroh’s office before someone comes in to inform them that Iroh is running late to a meeting. Iroh sends Sokka off with a broad smile and promises to continue their conversation later.

A guard offers to escort Sokka back to his room, but he finds himself declining, confident that he remembers the way back.

Zuko is surrounded by an entourage of advisors when Sokka passes him in the hallway, so Sokka shoots a smile in his direction when they make eye contact, not expecting him to have the time to say hello.

Zuko stops in his tracks, though, causing the group of people to freeze around him. His expression roots Sokka to the spot, leaving a total of seven people standing in the hallway staring at Zuko expectantly.

Zuko’s face is full of evident happy surprise at seeing him, and Sokka feels his ears and neck heating up because of it.

“Sokka, hold on, I wanted to ask you—”

“Sir?” One woman prompts, clearing her throat.

Zuko startles as if he’d forgotten about the crowd of royal advisors and their previous discussion.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll be right there. I just want to—” He doesn’t finish his sentence, and they take that as their dismissal to continue silently to wherever they were initially headed.

Zuko is dressed for royal business in dark reds and blacks that Sokka had always thought looked great on Zuko, but now realizes looks  _ great _ on Zuko. He stands taller in these robes, as if he’s trying to build himself up to fit the role of heir to the throne.

Sokka wonders if he’ll dress more like Iroh when he ascends the throne. He decides that Zuko would look  _ amazing _ in gold and then decides to stop thinking about that immediately.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Zuko says softly, taking a couple of steps closer to Sokka. Sokka takes one back on reflex but bumps into the wall.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Sokka smiles brightly to prove it.

Zuko doesn’t look convinced, which, fair.

“Suki thinks that she knows who kept the witch captive, you know, the people she got her magic from. She thinks that maybe we could find a way to reverse it by tracing back the magic, so she’s looking into the family history some more right now.”

Zuko glances to his right, where his advisors had disappeared through a door at the end of the hall.

“I’m going to be busy for a few more hours at least, but I was wondering if I could show you something after? If you’ll be okay with going somewhere with me?”

Zuko’s eyes are still on the door, and Sokka senses the nervousness in his posture. Does Zuko think that Sokka’s upset enough not to want to be around him anymore? Maybe he thinks that Sokka resents him because he’s stuck as a human now. Sokka would understand if he did, though that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Of course,” Sokka says, trying to sound extra happy to help alleviate any of Zuko’s concerns.

It seems to work because Zuko smiles brightly at him before hurrying down the hall.

Sokka tries not to stare as Zuko goes but doesn’t actually force himself to turn and continue walking until the door closes behind Zuko.

Sokka’s exhausted. Maybe he could do with a nap.

He intends to do just that, but Suki catches him on his way back to his room and drags him into the library with her to ask him some questions. He lets it happen mainly because he wants to talk with her about this.

She’s starting to get frustrated with her findings and wants to ask him what he knows about the seawitch, though she seems only to get more frustrated when she finds out there isn’t anything else to know.

“Suki,” Sokka starts slowly, wondering how he should phrase this. “I don’t want to upset you, but I would like you to stop trying to help me.”

“What?” By the look on her face, he probably shouldn’t have phrased it like that.

“I just- I know that you’re all working very hard to help me. But I know that you’re also very busy, and I would rather you focus on what you already have to focus on.”

Suki smiles at him then, and it reminds him of Iroh’s smile. “It’s no bother, Sokka. You know that. I want to help you.”

Sokka nods, then pauses and sits down to finish this conversation. He has to think carefully about how to get what he needs across without revealing too much of the things he doesn’t want to talk about right now.

“I know you do, but I don’t want you to.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t-” he starts, then begins again. “I know that magic is dead in humans, and it died for good reason. It was dangerous at the best of times, and I feel like trying to undo what was done to me might lead to having to resort to something that my tribe wouldn’t condone. I want to bridge the gap back to my people, and I think if we used magic, whether it worked or not, that would only drive them further away.” It’s a half-truth, and Suki can tell.

“Are you completely sure?”

“Completely,” Sokka says without hesitation.

That’s enough for Suki. She nods and closes the book of records in front of her. “That leaves me with some time to catch up on reading, I guess.”

Sokka will forever be grateful for the existence of Suki. To make sure she knows this, he hugs her nearly as tight as Aang usually hugs him.

Sokka is about to excuse himself when Toph walks in with Appa at her side. Suki says hi, and Toph replies, “Did you guys come here to take a nap too?”

Which is how Sokka finds himself lying on the plush carpeted floor with Toph and Appa one minute later, where he falls asleep quickly and deeply.

When he does wake up later, it’s because Aang had wandered in looking for him.

“Sokka! Get up! You’re going to be late!”

Sokka groans and swats at the hands shaking his shoulder.

“Sokka, Zuko’s waiting! We’ve been looking for you!” Aang sounds somewhat out of breath.

“What?” He asks, thoroughly confused about why he’s in the library for a moment.

“Go away, Twinkletoes. We’ll get up when we’re ready.”

Aang ignores Toph, instead taking Sokka’s arm and trying to physically pull him up.

“You’re going to be late! You still need to get dressed!”

“I  _ am  _ dressed,” Sokka says, looking down just to make sure.

“You can’t wear that,” Aang says simply, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Sokka is beginning to feel offended.

From the other side of the room, Suki sighs long and loud. Sokka hears her standing up. “Here. Move over, Aang, I’ll get him.”

And that’s all Sokka needs to spring up, memories of this morning flooding back to him. He does not need to be manhandled by Suki right now, or ever again if possible.

Sokka ignores Toph laughing at him.

“What am I going to be late for?”

Aang doesn’t answer him; he just starts pulling him along. Sokka can feel the excitement radiating off of Aang, but he’s officially only had three hours of sleep in the last twenty-four hours, so he refrains from asking until he’s more coherent.

When they get to Sokka’s room, Aang pulls him right in and begins going through Sokka’s clothes drawers, picking out an outfit that Sokka decides he hates, so he ends up doing it himself. Aang waits impatiently outside the room while Sokka changes, and as soon as Sokka’s finished, he’s being pulled off again.

Aang doesn’t stop dragging Sokka until they get to the door that he recognizes as leading out to the front of the palace. Aang looks him over quickly, opens the door, and motions for him to walk through on his own this time.

Zuko is the first person Sokka’s eyes land on once he’s outside, though that should come as no surprise to him by now. He’s dressed casually now, and though Sokka internally mourns the loss of the cleaned-up princely look from earlier, this is also nothing to scoff at. Zuko looks relaxed in a way Sokka isn’t sure he’s seen him be in a while, which might have something to do with the upcoming coronation.

Sokka smiles at Kori, one of Zuko’s personal guards, and she smiles back at him with a slight bow of the head. That’s when Sokka realizes that Aang hadn’t come through the door with him and is now nowhere to be seen.

“Are you ready?” Zuko asks, hand extended to help him into the car. Sokka’s breath catches in his throat. He doesn’t think he is ready, actually. He suddenly feels much too awake.

Sokka nods and takes Zuko’s hand.

Sokka thinks it’s the same car they’d taken to the pool yesterday. Was that yesterday? It feels like it was at least two months ago.

Kori gets into the front seat along with one other guard while Sokka slides into the backseat with Zuko.

“Where are we going?”

“I figured you should get a chance to see the city, remember?”

Sokka knows now that Zuko is too busy to be doing this, but he also knows that Zuko has already gone out of his way to take the time to do it, so he doesn’t say that. His chest feels a bit tight at the thought of Zuko going to the trouble to cheer him up, though.

“Suki told me that you’re being coronated soon,” Sokka says, meticulously avoiding sounding accusing. Zuko wilts a bit anyways.

“I wanted to wait to mention it until we heard back from your sister,” Zuko says quickly. “I didn’t want you to think I was too busy to wait for her with you anymore.”

Sokka chooses to ignore that statement in favor of trying to breathe correctly. Zuko hadn’t wanted to stop going to the beach to wait with Sokka, even though they both know he could have used that time for other things.

“Are you ready?”

Zuko lets out one long breath and sags a bit against the seat. Sokka belatedly notices that the car is moving.

“I don’t know,” Zuko says quietly.

Sokka realizes he’s trying to avoid the guards in the front seat hearing, so he turns to face Zuko to better allow a whisper. Zuko notices and sends Sokka a thankful smile but reaches forward to press a button in front of him. A black glass slides in place between the front and back seats, cutting off the others rather effectively.

Muffled music begins to play from the front, and Sokka wonders if it’s to grant them a bit more privacy, but Zuko still turns to mirror Sokka’s position and keeps his voice low as he continues. “I wasn’t supposed to take the throne after my uncle.”

Sokka knows this, had spoken with Iroh about his late son before, and heard the story of the tragic accident. Zuko had been much younger than Lu Ten, and so hadn’t known him well, but Sokka could see clearly that Iroh likened Zuko to a second son. When Sokka imagines what Lu Ten would have looked like, he imagines Zuko ten years older.

Iroh had practically raised Zuko for most of his youth, after all. In Sokka’s mind, Zuko is the natural best fit to follow Iroh’s lead. He doesn’t doubt that everyone would feel that way.

He may be a bit biased, he reasons, but he’ll still stand by that.

“I think you’re more like Iroh than you think,” Sokka whispers.

“There are people who see that as a problem,” Zuko replies.

Sokka isn’t sure what Zuko means by that, but he also doesn’t think that Zuko wants to elaborate.

“I think you’ll do great.”

“Yeah?” Zuko asks. “I hope so.”

“I think you’ll do great because you care about doing great,” Sokka tells him firmly. He can see how much Zuko is stressing about whether he’ll be good for his country, and that’s all the evidence Sokka needs to know he’ll be a great leader.

Zuko silently looks at Sokka for a moment, something unrecognizable in his face. For a second, Sokka worries he’s overstepped a boundary, though he isn’t sure how he would have offended Zuko. He’s about to take it back and apologize, at least to disturb the tension that’s built up, but then Zuko grabs one of Sokka’s hands and squeezes gently.

“Thank you.”

Zuko’s hand is warm and soft, and Sokka can’t help but imagine that they were sitting here holding hands under different circumstances, and that it’s actually not probably a trick of the light that Zuko is leaning towards him a bit.

Seapeople don’t kiss, not the way humans do. When Sokka had first seen Suki kiss Ty Lee and had seen the countless kisses in movies, he thought it was a nice way for humans to show affection, but he hadn’t seen the appeal.

Now, though? Sokka  _ really _ can’t stop imagining kissing Zuko. Just to know for sure.

Zuko pulls his hand back, though, and points out the window. Sokka has to turn away entirely to see.

“This is one of the largest shopping centers in the city.”

The shopping center is primarily glass windows and steel beams that make the building look more like a giant sculpture. Sokka thinks he would have been pleased even if Zuko had just planned to show him the building, but the car pulls closer to where two people wearing a similar uniform to the guards in the front seat are standing on a walkway.

“I wanted to let you pick out your own clothes.”

  
  
  


Zuko must be glad that he’d cleared the rest of the day to relax because they spend an extraordinary amount of time at the shopping center.

Sokka enjoys it more than he thought he would. It’s busy. He’s never been around so many people before, and though he thought that he would be overwhelmed at first, the energy that fills the building is exciting.

Shopping is also so,  _ so _ much fun.

By the time they’re finished, all four of the guards, as well as both Sokka and Zuko, have bags in both hands. Zuko had also helped Sokka pick out at least one thing to eat from nearly every place in the building that sold food. Sokka doesn’t think he’s had this much fun in a single day since he was a child.

It’s safe to say that if the trip’s goal was to distract both men, the mission is more than accomplished.

The two extra guards disappear with their bags, which leaves Kori, the one other guard, and Sokka and Zuko to try to fit their bags into the car’s trunk. They’re laughing as they try to get it all to fit, and eventually, they conclude that a few of the larger boxes will have to join them in the backseat.

The divider is still up, and when they start the car, the music turns back on.

Zuko turns to him. “You know, you lied to Toph when you said that you met me on the beach.”

Sokka laughs but shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. I met you on that beach.”

“You saved me the night before that, though.”

“It was still on that beach,” Sokka quips back, and Zuko laughs. Sokka only smiles wider at the sight.

“How did you know my name?”

“Oh.” Sokka feels himself turn a bit red, though he knows he doesn’t have anything to be embarrassed about. Still, admitting to spying on someone you end up  _ crushing on _ , if he’s using the term correctly, could be considered at least marginally embarrassing. “I saw you on the boat before the witch attacked it. Everyone was calling you by your name.”

“Oh,” Zuko says, then gently touches his cheek. “That’s how you knew it was me. You recognized the scar.”

Sokka nods. Zuko’s scar is still something he doesn’t know about, though he can tell it’s a touchy subject, so he doesn’t ask.

The sun has set by when they begin the drive back towards the palace, so Sokka spends much of it staring at the lights and watching the other cars go by from the window.

When they begin to pull up the long road up the hill to the palace, Zuko asks if Sokka is tired. And, really, Sokka should say yes. The smart thing to do would probably be to say yes. So, of course, he tells Zuko no.

And so, when they pull to a stop, Zuko asks if Sokka wants to go to the beach. Sokka tells him yes.

Kori promises to have all the bags taken to Sokka’s room, and the other guard follows behind them at a distance as they make their way down towards the path that leads to the beach.

“You know,” Sokka starts, just trying to cut through the silence, “I used to hate that you couldn’t see the stars the closer you got to land. I thought it was a sign that humans were doing something wrong. But it’s because you replaced it with something so bright it outshines them.”

Zuko looks to Sokka with a mixture of confusion and amusement. “Light pollution?”

Sokka turns. They’re still far enough up the hill that they can see the city spread before them. To Sokka, it looks like someone plucked the stars right out of the sky and set them on the ground. “Life.”

Zuko stops walking, and when Sokka turns back to him, he’s smiling right back at Sokka.

“Will you miss it? When you go home.”

“I won’t have to,” Sokka replies, and finds himself feeling a bit relieved at the idea. He’s only just begun to explore what life on land has to offer, and now he’ll have the rest of his life to experience it. After his talk with Iroh, he’s hopeful for that future rather than uncertain.

“What do you mean?” Zuko’s frowning, but Sokka wants to keep him smiling, so he keeps a happy tone as he starts walking again.

“I already talked to Iroh and Suki about it. I’m not going to try to turn back.”

Zuko speeds up his pace to keep up with Sokka. “Why not?”

“I just, I don’t know.” Sokka flounders for something to say and comes up blank. “I don’t want to.”

“Don’t you want to go home?”

“Of course I do,” Sokka says, finding it harder to keep the happiness in his voice.

Zuko grabs his wrist, stopping him at the edge of the sand. “Then why don’t you want to keep trying to go back?”

“Already in a rush to get rid of me?” Sokka jokes, but Zuko doesn’t laugh.

Sokka looks at Zuko, who’s a flurry of concern and confusion and something else, maybe. Sokka is already tired of wishing for inches closer and something elses.

“I don’t think it’ll work,” Sokka admits quietly.

“We can still try,” Zuko says, and he’s frustrated now, as if it’s a simple concept that Sokka is just refusing to grasp.

“I  _ know _ that it won’t work,” Sokka amends, more firmly. Zuko takes a step back and drops Sokka’s arm, but Sokka barrels on before Zuko can say anything. “I want to stay. I want to stay with Suki and Appa and Aang and Toph and Iroh. I want to go shopping and learn to swim and see more cities. I want to learn more about languages and how you build buildings to look so beautiful. I want to learn how to cook. I want to visit Toph’s city, and Suki’s island, and Aang’s temple. I want to stay in the palace. Isn’t that enough?”

“Not for you,” Zuko says, shaking his head. The lack of hesitation makes no room for argument. “You miss your people. You were excited when you told us about leading your tribe one day. You’ve been worried sick about your family all month. You’ve been hoping for your sister to come back with news this entire time. You’ve been waiting to go back to your life since you got here, Sokka, so why don’t you think it will work? Why don’t you at least give us a chance to figure it out?”

“Because there’s only one way to go back,” Sokka snaps, relishing just a bit in the way he throws Zuko off. “The witch only gave me one way to go back, and it’s impossible. So I don’t want to go back.”

“You said she died,” Zuko says slowly, and Sokka can tell he’s still processing the new information.

“She is dead.”

“Then…”

“She’s dead, and she said I was a traitor to my kind, and maybe she’s right.”

“No,” Zuko’s voice drops into a comforting tone, and Sokka is torn between wanting to be angry that he’s being so  _ stubborn _ and wanting to let himself be comforted. “You’re not. She’s wrong. You know that.”

Sokka does.

He lets his shoulders drop, releasing a bit of his tension. He doesn’t want to be angry at Zuko. Zuko’s just trying to help.

“What do you need to do to go back?”

Sokka shakes his head. “I can’t do it, Zuko. It’s not even an option.”

Zuko lets out an annoyed groan, like Sokka’s being the difficult one. “What if it’s something we can figure out, though? If she gave you something, we can work with it and try to get you home.” 

“Why does it even matter so much? I don’t want to do it, Zuko.”

Zuko’s frustrated again, running his hands through his hair. “It matters because you saved my life! And now you’re here stuck as something you hate, and I can’t even manage to help you get home?”

_ Oh. _ Honestly, Sokka should have expected this.

Sokka thinks of that blade. He thinks of grabbing Zuko from the water and towing him to shore. He thinks of Katara, exhausted and devastated, sinking into the water.

Sokka thinks of not rescuing Zuko from the shipwreck and feels sick.

Sokka thinks of not throwing that slate knife into the water last night and feels even worse.

Sokka sits down, right there at the edge of the sand. Zuko sinks next to him after a moment.

“I want to go home,” Sokka admits slowly. “But what I’d have to do. I’d rather go the rest of my life without seeing my family than do that. It’s unthinkable. It’s horrible. This way, I can at least try to compromise. On my own terms.”

“‘Compromise,’” Zuko echos quietly. “To think one month ago, you didn’t know what a chair was.” He flicks a bit of sand off his arm, avoiding Sokka’s eyes. “You’re really something.”

“Last night, my sister told me that if I want to come home, I have to kill the human that the seawitch saw me save one month ago.” Zuko still doesn’t look up, but Sokka can tell he’s frozen and tense. “She said I had to prove that I was not a traitor to my people.”

“Oh,” Zuko says, and then he looks up.

Sokka hurries on in a rush, not wanting Zuko to think for a moment that he’s considered it. “I won’t do it. I told my sister last night. I can’t. I won’t. It’s not even an option, it’s—”

Zuko is still looking out, watching the waves roll in and smooth out.

“Don’t you want to go home?” He says it quietly like he doesn’t entirely want Sokka to hear.

“No!” Sokka all but shouts at him. “Not like that.”

“But—” Sokka jumps up and that cuts off whatever Zuko had been about to argue. He’s horrified this is even a discussion.

“No!” Sokka can’t believe he even has to say this right now. “Zuko, I want to go home, but not more than I want to be with you.” Sokka is going hysterical, he thinks. His voice sounds far away and too loud but also too quiet, so he’s not sure if just Zuko hears him or the guard perched on the top of the hill as well.

Zuko doesn’t say anything, and that might be adding to Sokka’s hysteria a bit, so he begins to pace.

“I’m not doing this. I don’t care. I don’t care. It’s not happening. It’s not. I won’t let it.” Sokka is more talking to himself, trying to calm himself down, but it’s not working. He’s vaguely aware of Zuko standing up and grabbing his hands, but he doesn’t focus until he meets Zuko’s eye.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. We won’t do it. I promise we won’t do it.”

Sokka feels like Zuko pulls the breath out of his lungs in order to say those words because he just deflates with relief, clutching onto Zuko’s hands tightly. He can’t tell which of the two of them is trembling.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I just want to help you.”

“You have helped me,” Sokka whispers, squeezing Zuko’s hands tighter. “You have.”

Zuko is quiet as Sokka calms himself.

Sokka should never have mentioned any of this in the first place. He should have just told Zuko what he’d told Suki and enjoyed a relaxing walk on the beach with the human he’s smitten over. They could have been holding hands under a completely different context right now.

“I can’t believe you considered it.”

“You didn’t?”

“No!” Sokka shakes their hands. “Why would I?”

Zuko doesn’t say anything until Sokka looks down at their hands. “If you asked, I wouldn’t have said yes. But I don’t think I could have said no, either.”

“I wouldn’t have ever asked,” Sokka says quietly. “You’re too important.”

For some insane reason, Zuko decides to get on the joking train ten stops too late to dismiss the tension. “Well, Azula keeps saying that if I ever happen to be assassinated, she thinks she’ll do a much better—” 

Sokka doesn’t want to hear it. Zuko doesn’t get to just gloss over the seriousness of what he’d just tried to imply. He drops Zuko’s hands a bit harshly and forces Zuko to meet his eyes with a hand on either side of his face. “No, you’re too important to  _ me _ .”

It is effective in shutting Zuko up, at least. The problem now becomes that Sokka is very close to Zuko’s face. So close, in fact, that he can tell Zuko is just as breathless as he is.

And it really has just been a night of wishful thinking, hasn’t it, because Sokka  _ swears _ Zuko looks at his mouth for a split second.

“I don’t want you to go,” Zuko tells him, so quiet and so close that Sokka more or less feels the shape of the words as they hit his cheeks rather than hears them.

“I want to stay with you,” Sokka replies, a confession in its own right.

When Zuko kisses him, Sokka understands all the excitement around kissing immediately. It doesn’t last long, but it shakes something in the core of Sokka’s chest and leaves one particular word rattling around in his head.

Zuko’s arms are wrapped around Sokka’s back, and they’re standing chest to chest with Sokka’s arms sandwiched in between them because he refuses to let go of Zuko’s face, and really they should probably be very uncomfortable, but Sokka doesn’t think that he’ll ever move from this spot again.

Sokka does have to say that word, though, because Zuko looks like he’s about to kiss Sokka again and who knows where that will send his train of thought next.

“I think you’re making me fall in love with you.”

Zuko laughs, and it’s so joyous that Sokka can’t help but kiss him again. And again. And again.

What was that word again? Sokka doesn’t think he can even remember his own name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did NOT think I would get this up for valentines day but the guilt got to me so I crunched all night and all morning you guys deserved this ending
> 
> One more bonus chapter of sorts and then we're officially done!
> 
> I'm going to spend the majority of the foreseeable future on this fic polishing it up a bit, so if you get any additional updates that don't include that ninth chapter being added then you can probably just ignore it. I won't lie last chapter probably won't be up for a month or so, so I apologize for that in advance
> 
> Thank you guys for sticking around with me for so long on this, and I really hoped you enjoyed it!!
> 
> <3


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